Got swine flu? Try stuffing ghee up your nose

Stuffing ghee up your nose or massaging your feet with mustard oil are among the many traditional remedies being suggested to fight H1N1. Advocates of traditional therapies are making the most of the swine flu panic and are pushing wonder drugs via TV, SMS and email. Neelam Pandey reports.

Stuffing ghee up your nose or massaging your feet with mustard oil are among the many traditional remedies being suggested to fight H1N1.

Advocates of traditional therapies are making the most of the swine flu panic and are pushing wonder drugs via TV, SMS and email.

Yogi Ashwini of the Dhyan Foundation advocates three techniques to fight swine flu: nasal cleansing, putting cow ghee in the nostrils and mustard oil foot massage.

“These are preventive measure. Of course, if you get infected, you’ll need Tamiflu,” said a spokesperson.
Emails and SMSes on homeopathic alternatives are also doing the rounds.

“Tamiflu isn’t available at chemists. In such a scenario, we suggest Infuenzum 200. These medicines can’t harm anyone,” said Satyendra Bhardwaj of the NGO Subhadra Nambudiri Foundation.

Then there’s yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s herbal cure to prevent swine flu — a drink concocted from giloye (tinospora cordifolia) and tulsi (sweet basil).

Practitioners of modern medicine say these solutions are placebos at best and at times, can cause more harm than good. “While homemade ayurvedic concoctions don’t harm, homeopathic medicine can have severe side effects,” said Dr Bir Singh, head of community medicine, AIIMS.