Ayurvedic Self-Care for Viral Infections
It’s autumn, or maybe it’s winter time. You just wrapped a typical day at work. Perhaps you feel a touch run-down. And then you notice it - the tickle in your throat, like an itch you can’t scratch no matter how much you try to clear it. You take pains to hydrate extra-well. You go to bed early.
It doesn’t matter. The tickle wakes you up the next morning, earlier than you would like.
Only a few hours go by, and your nose is running like a leaky faucet. There aren’t enough tissues on the planet to stop the flow of sticky snot.
It’s happened again - you’ve been hit by a virus, struck by a smooth criminal. But which one? Perhaps a COVID test or a respiratory viral panel will answer that question; but then again, maybe it won’t.
Your experience of viral infection may or may not feel that dramatic. Whether or not it does, though, you can’t deny that it’s time again: viral cold, flu, and COVID season! And maybe even an extension of gastroenteritis season.
Throughout the continental (and non-continental) United States, the weather has cooled and the winds are becoming more brisk. That means that cellular and tissue immunity is reduced, and that means that the viruses that are omnipresent in our environment can more easily sneak their way past the body’s defenses and wreak havoc.
If you’re one of the many who have gone to a standard physician’s office (primary care, urgent care, etc.) to address your viral condition, you know that there are very few effective tools for turning the ship around more quickly. There may be the suggestion of Sudafed, Dayquil, NyQuil, Robitussin, and more for symptoms. At best, though, these pharmaceuticals only suppress the body’s mechanisms for responding to viral infection; they do nothing to enhance the healing process.
And if you’re anything at all like me, you might be completely and thoroughly unsatisfied with symptom management alone - and if that’s the case, you probably want tools that work to get you better faster. Maybe even to stop the infection while it’s in its prodromal phase (early stage - like the tickle in the throat before the head cold). Or better still, to prevent infection entirely!
Fortunately, those tools do exist! The key to using them lies in understanding the doshic (physiologic) patterns that underlie different types of infections. The body never lies, and it always has a story to tell. When we learn how to listen and understand, we also learn how to respond and offer care that meets the moment.
Even more fortunately, I’ve got a time-tested set of those tools ready to share with you!
Rooted in the time-tested principles of Ayurveda and grounded in virologic science, the set of tools I’ve put together has been carefully curated and formatted into an evergreen course for you to peruse at your leisure!
It’s called Ayurvedic Self-Care: Viral Infections, and it’s packed with several hours of accessible, highly useful material including scientific background, Ayurvedic principles, and practical steps you can take to care for yourself and your loved ones at each step of the viral infection cycle - from exposure to illness to recovery. The course material is available in multiple formats, including video lectures, audio files, written transcripts, and more.
Complete the material, and it’s yours to access and refer to for life.
Take a look - whether you’re in good health at the moment and looking to be prepared, or symptomatic and looking to get better, you’ll be glad you did.
Interested in knowing more? Our on-demand course covers this topic in more detail, and is now available! See below:
Ayurvedic Self-Care: Viral Infections
with Dr. Matt Van Auken, MD, MPH, ABOIM, DipABLM, E-RYT, YACEP
And as always, Dr. Matt is available to discuss the ins-and-outs for you! If you are curious about your constitution & health (or health of a loved one), you can book a cost-free, 15min Consultation, and we’ll discuss!
Professional disclaimer: please do not initiate any herbal or other medicinal interventions without the guidance of a knowledgeable provider.
Dr. Matt Van Auken, MD, MPH
Dr. Matt is an Ayurveda-trained, triple board-certified physician.
