Nellore: Negative placebo effect ruling the roost

Nellore: 'Davai bhi aur Kadai bhi' was the slogan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the first wave of coronavirus. He reiterated the same during the second wave, but the preferences of people seem to be shifting from Kadai and immunity boosters to oxygen boosters.

With the situation being chaotic due to non-availability of beds, oxygen, and other emergencies, people are more depending on medicines and are on the lookout for places where oxygen would be available in case of emergency.

From the beginning of the first wave till now, a majority were looking for more and more health tips to improve immunity levels. Now they feel that it was not of much help. Medical experts say the negative placebo effect is now ruling the roost highly impacting lives leading to pain and depression.

A sort of dispassion seems to be developing at least in Nellore. Earlier, people used to prepare household medications and Kashayam, etc. They were consuming various fruits, vegetables, Ayurvedic medicines, roots and leaves, and many others for making them strong enough to face the pandemic.

The day was used to start not with beverages like coffee or tea, and the majority were enjoying Kashayam prepare with ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper boil in water and add honey, and lemon juice for taste. Shops that sell spices were being crowded with customers for want of these products. Milk with turmeric, black pepper, and jaggery for improving immunity was another popular daily beverage.

But now, panic-gripped people are now preferring coffee, tea and black tea. Their psychological conditions are changing, say medical experts.

Vegetables such as lemons, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, capsicum, radish, spinach, and tamarind; fruits enriched with vitamin-c like sweet orange, guava, black grapes, watermelon, papaya, and pineapple were on the dining table for lunch and dinner. Typical recipes, vegetables, fruits, and spices vanished now from the daily menu.

They are now running after Remdesivir, oxygen cylinders, and emergency tablets with them. It indicates their instability and anxiety over the pandemic.

This panic situation arises out of the fact that more than 650 people having lost their lives since second wave started and 1,200 to 1,300 cases being reported every day.

Around 16,000 are in home isolation and the district administration started around nine Covid care centres apart from the hospitals for treating the infected. Official data says 94,329 people were infected and 77,665 people recovered safely which is unnoticed by many.

Dr Rahman, a senior medical officer, advised people not to panic. He said those who confine to the households are not susceptible to virus-related problems. Double masking is also not good since it aggravates lung-related issues," said Dr Rahman.