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Wednesday 18 January 2012

Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment for Listeriosis

Listeriosis is an infection caused by bacteria which cause miscarriage, still birth, premature birth and also serious infections in young children, elderly people, and people with a weakened immune system.  This disease is transmitted from mother to child, by inhalation of contaminated dust, consumption of contaminated dairy and meat products, and coming in contact with infected animals.  The common symptoms of this condition include fever, nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, neck stiffness, irritability, convulsions, and coma.  While this condition can be fatal in people with an immunocompromised system, most healthy people usually recover from this condition within a few weeks.

Ayurvedic herbal treatment for Listeriosis is aimed at treating the infection, giving symptomatic treatment for the various symptoms, and improving the immune status of the affected individual.  Ayurvedic herbal medicines which have a specific anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antibacterial action are used in the management of this condition so as to control infection.  Medicines which have a normalising and corrective action on the gastrointestinal system and the central nervous system are also very important in the management of this condition.

Ayurvedic herbal medicines which have a specific immunomodulatory action are very important in the management of this condition, since these medicines modify the course and severity of the infection seen in this condition.  Herbal immune agents reduce treatment time, improve the cure rate, prevent relapse of the condition, and also prevent infection from fresh outbreaks.  Such herbal medicines have the added advantage of safety, since they can be given for prolonged periods even to pregnant women, so as to prevent later complications like miscarriage, still birth, premature birth, and infection in the newborn.  Such medicines can also be safely given to elderly people affected with this condition.

Depending upon the severity of infection, most individuals affected with this condition require Ayurvedic herbal treatment for periods ranging from one to six months, in order to significantly improve or cure this condition.  Ayurvedic herbal treatment thus has a significant role to play in the management and treatment of Listeriosis.

The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at www.ayurvedaphysician.com