A doctor proposes ayurvedic way of disinfecting public places

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An

Ayurveda doctor

in the district has come up with a

disinfectant using medicinal herbs

.

Fumigation

using ‘

Ayurveda dhoopnam

’ prepared by

Dr Anilan S

,

medical officer

,

Government Ayush Primary Health Centre

,

Kottukal

, is said to reduce

bacterial

and

fungal infection

in the disinfected area.

Dr Anilan prepared the fumigation powder, Aparajitha Dhooma Choornam, with reference from texts on Ayurveda. The doctor and his team then experimented it at Kottukal panchayat for 15 days during the Covid outbreak in April-May, distributing it to around 1,000 houses. “We noticed that after each day, bacterial, fungal and other infectious species reduced drastically in the region. And after 15 days of regular fumigation, aerobic bacterial count, yeast and mould count were nil,” the doctor said.

He later used the choornam at Covid first-line treatment centre at Kovalam when he was assigned duty there.

Dr Anilan said Ayurveda gave much importance to preventive medicine and it has described several modes for disinfection purposes. “Fumigation (dhoopana) with medicinal herbs is one such method that is safe, natural and cost effective. In addition to disinfection, the fumes from herbal plants are good for stress relief and well-being,” Dr Anilan said.

“Anyone can make the Aparajitha Dhooma Choornam at home with prescribed ingredients. Panchayat and ward representatives can take initiatives to carry out fumigation using this drug at junctions and streets in mornings and evenings. It will be effective when the fumigation is done at the same time every day. It is available in some dispensaries at Rs 35 per 50 grams,” Dr Anilan said.

The rhizome of Acorus Calamus (Vayambu), Actiniopteris Dichotoma plant (Nanmukha Pullu), wood part of Aquilaria Agallocha (Agaru), bark and leaves of Azadirachta Indica (Veppu), root of Calotropis Gigantea (Erukku), wood part of Cedrus Deodara (Devedaram), gum resin of Commiphora Mukul (Gulggulu) and resin of Shorea Robusta, (Chenchallyam) are used to make the powder. The powder can be added to a heated coconut shell in an earthen vessel. The fumes emitting from the mixture is used for fumigation.

The doctor said powder can be used for disinfecting rooms and environment; controlling pests, rodents and insects; purifying and sterilising therapeutic rooms, puerperal and neonatal rooms; administrated as drug for wounds, fever, poisoning, ENT diseases, gynaecological and psychological disorders and disinfecting vessels used for medicine preparation.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword. Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes, messages, and quotes.