Coronavirus and other virus remedies
The following remedies have been tried by various people, and may ease symptoms of coronavirus or other viruses. If you are at risk of contracting a virus, such as being in the same household as an infected person, then it is worth following some of the advice below.
Please ensure you seek advice from a doctor or hakim, especially if you are already taking other medication, or have other illnesses. Some of these remedies are very ‘hot/gharam’ according to Ayurvedic medicine, so beware of the effect of consuming too much ‘hot foods’ in one day/at one time.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have serious medical conditions or are taking medication, ensure you check with your doctor before trying any remedies below.
As always, du’a (see Wazifahs page) and sadaqah (charity) are very important. The bigger the difficulty, the bigger the sadaqah should be, and the quicker the sadaqah is distributed the better. And don’t forget, miswak (siwak) is also beneficial.
Have a look at each section below, to help you decide what to do to ease symptoms:
Environment
- Keep the windows open and try and keep the room well ventilated with fresh air.
- A bowl of sliced or roughly chopped onions can be kept in a flat bowl in the room to clean the air, to be replaced when they get dry/smell goes. Good for breathing problems and asthmatics.
- Can use a humidifier if air is dry (ensure the humidifier is very clean inside with no mould within any parts).
Vitamins for good immune system
- The best way to get Vitamin D is from half an hour direct sunlight to face and arms daily between 11am to 3pm in summer (UK), otherwise you will need supplements. The runny yolk from half-boiled eggs are also a good source of Vitamin D, but they won’t give you the full recommended daily amount. Fermented cod liver oil is also high in Vitamin D; good quality supplements can be found on websites such as dolphinfitness.co.uk.
- For Vitamin C, there are lots of food sources so have a look online. You may also squeeze fresh lemon juice into some of the teas mentioned above. There are also supplements available, such as Sambucol Black Elderberry syrup.
TaibUVID (used effectively in Madinah for Covid-19)
1. Mix 1 tsp black seeds, 1 tsp chamomile powder and 1 tbsp raw honey. Chew well and swallow. Thereafter, drink natural juice or eat an orange, lemon or tangerine.
For prevention, consume the above once a day until the end of the epidemic. For treatment, have 5x a day for 1 week. Then have once a day until the epidemic ends.
2. For cough and breathing symptoms, inhale vapors from black seed oil, or clove oil, or solution of boiled black seeds and chamomile (1 tbsp black seeds and 1 tbsp chamomile in 1 cup water, boiled and strained). Inhale in nebuliser. If nebuliser isn’t available, cover boiled water partially, keep on low heat on the stove and inhale the vapours. Do this 5-6 times a day.
Tea for viruses
You can make any of these; just aim to drink some tea 3 times a day. When making the tea, recite Durud Sharif, Surah al-Fatihah and Ayat-e-Shifa, Bismillahilladhi du’a and Durud Sharif, and blow on the water. Strain before consuming.
Consuming over 800mg of antioxidants a day can cause liver damage, and beware of acidity, dehydration and caffeine overconsumption.
In ½ litre water, add 2 lawang (cloves), 2 mari (black peppercorns), 2 elaichi (green cardamoms) broken into 2 pieces, 2 large pinches black seeds, 2 large pinches loose tea, 10g ginger pieces, 2g taj (cinnamon) sticks, 1 large pinch natural salt, 1 large pinch arad (haldi/turmeric) powder and boil. Keep stirring until it boils. Do not over boil that the water evaporates, so the resulting strained tea should be nearly ½ litre. Add 20g gor (jaggery) or honey to taste. This contains 5 servings.
Add 2 ½ cups of water to a pan. Add 1 green tea teabag (if using decaf, use CO2 decaffeinated such as Clippers brand). Add 1 pinch ajwain (ajmo/carom) seeds, 1 pinch saunf (fennel) seeds, sliced up ginger (from an inch-sized piece), 4 lawang (cloves), and 1 elaichi (green cardamom). Ginger is optional, but good for coronavirus. Add 3 fingertip-sized pieces of taj (cinnamon) sticks for chesty or wheezy coughs. Let boil until 1 cup water has evaporated. Add raw or Manuka honey after gas is switched off. Drink 1 cup 3x a day. Lasts for 3 days in the fridge, just reheat if cold.
Add 2 cups water to a pan. Add 3 lawang (cloves), 7 elaichi (green cardamoms), and 21 fresh mint leaves. Boil for 5 mins, and then drink 1 cup. You can reuse the ingredients again, by adding water and boiling to make more. If fresh leaves are not available, use dried mint.
Add ¾ cup water to a pan. Add 1 tsp ajwain (ajmo/carom) seeds, 1 pinch salt (sea salt or other natural salt better), 1 pinch arad (turmeric) powder, ¼ tsp elaichi (green cardamom) powder, 2 lawang (cloves) broken into pieces, ¼ tsp taj (cinnamon) powder, 1 tsp desi ghee. Boil until ¼ cup remains. Switch off and add 1 ½ tsp raw or Manuka honey.
Add 1 cup water to a pan. Add 1 tsp crushed dried mint leaves or a few fresh leaves. Add sliced up ginger (from a 1 ½ inch-sized piece). Break up 1 elaichi (green cardamom) into 2 pieces and add. You can add a tenth of 1 tsp loose tea if you wish. Let boil for a few minutes. Switch off and add raw or Manuka honey to taste.
Organic rosehip tea is also good for the immune system in general.
Please note, if you are using Manuka honey, ensure it is UMF 15+ as anything below that won’t cut it.
Stay hydrated
Lots of fluid can be lost due to fever or diarrhoea. Besides the teas, drink zamzam, if possible, or prayed-upon water. There are many fruits that are also water-rich.
Remedies for cough
Have any of these a few times a day.
- Mix ¼ tsp arad (turmeric powder) and 1 tsp raw or Manuka honey. Have frequently throughout the day, especially morning, midday and night.
- Slice up some ginger and squeeze with a good quality garlic press (Wilko’s sell good ones) to extract 1 tsp juice. Add ¼ tsp dry-braised elaichi (green cardamom) powder (use baking tsp quarter or back end of a tsp), ¼ tsp arad (turmeric) powder, a few grains of salt and 2 tsp raw or Manuka honey. Mix and take 1 tsp a few times a day.
When consuming turmeric, adding a bit of black pepper increases its absorption in the body.
Keep the fever down
You can keep fever at bay by soaking a facecloth in diluted organic apple cider vinegar (ratio ½ water: ½ acv, or ¼ water: ¾ acv) and sponging the hands, feet, stomach and head. You can also keep the facecloth on the head whilst lying down.
Breathing and congestion problems
- Place 2 drops of olive oil in each nostril (keep head back for 10 minutes), 4x a day including morning and before sleep. This is good for headaches too.
- Put 1 tsp black seed oil (optional, add some drops eucalyptus oil) in a bowl of boiling water and inhale the steam as many times a day as you can. When inhaling, use a towel to cover your head and close your eyes. Alternatively, use this steam inhaler cup. Water is best boiled in a pan, as kettle boiled water does not stay as hot for long.
- Mix a few drops of eucalyptus oil with olive oil (ratio 10 drops to 2 tbsp) and massage on chest and back. Or massage black seed oil on chest and back. Alternatively, you can use black seed oil vapour rub. Massage on throat if you also have a sore throat.
- Slice or chop a medium onion and keep it in the room in an open bowl. Replace when the smell goes.
To prevent pneumonia from developing
(From Kitchen Medicine by J and M Seal)
Chop ½ medium onion in small pieces. Place in the middle of a tea towel or cloth. Mush with a mallet if you wish. Tie the cloth up. Apply poultice directly on skin of chest where you feel the pain or inflammation.
Do not place onions directly on the skin. Leave poultice against the skin for approximately a day before changing it. Keep using the poultice until you feel better. If this poultice causes skin irritations, stop using it (or give your skin a break for a while).
An alternative is braise the onion in olive oil on very low heat and apply the oil onto the chest.
Miscellaneous
- Drink ½ tsp black seed oil. After 1 minute, wash down with water. You can use a syringe if you wish (5ml).
- Can diffuse several drops peppermint or lavender essential oil in water in a room diffuser/humidifier (ensure humidifier is clean and not mouldy inside) to help with nausea.
Important! Seek immediate medical advice if your virus symptoms escalate, or if you have an allergic reaction to any of the remedies above.