The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India had been highly devastating to the family and community clusters. It has simultaneously affected many within a close community including the family and has posed unique issues related to health care. A pan India disruption in hospital-based health-care delivery during the second wave has increased the trouble manifolds in cases where many members of the family were simultaneously affected. Family physicians through online consultations have played crucially to navigate the family from this grim situation. During prevailing uncertainty of availability of dependable hospital-based care, most people remained bound to home care following the advice of their respective physicians. Ayurveda family physicians also have played decisively in this phase. This is observed that the families treated in an integrative mode utilizing the standard home care recommendations along with standard Ayurveda care as per the Ayurveda physicians' recommendations, got benefitted most. As is shown in the case under study, all patients in the family cluster suffering from SARS-CoV-2 infection, recovered completely in a short span and, despite brief episodes of lowered oxygen in between, did not require any hospitalization. This observation highlights the importance of Ayurveda family practice during the current pandemic and warrants more serious studies to define the role and impact of Ayurveda family practice during the pandemic.

Herpes zoster is a viral skin infection though uncommon in childhood can be caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus due to lower immunity. This clinical entity can be compared with Visarpa (~vesicular or bullous eruptions). Visarpa is a clinical syndrome in which vitiated Vata-Pitta dosha along with vitiated Rakta (~blood plasma) cause progressive skin lesions, which are painful and look like scalds or burns, and require Pitta allaying internal and local treatment. An 8-year-old female child presented along with her father with the vesicular lesions on her left cheek associated with mild fever, itching, and pain on the local lesion. She was administered with 125 mg of Kamadudha rasa (plain) thrice a day before meals with milk and Pinda taila for local application on the facial lesions. The patient reported on the 5^th day with significant relief in the size and shape of the facial lesions and other symptoms. The scars limited to minimal without any inflammatory signs by the 7^th day of follow-up. Kamadudha rasa and Pinda taila are two readily available and cost-effective compound ayurvedic formulations, which can be used in the management of herpes zoster infection, especially in low-resource settings.

Acharya Sushruta has mentioned Bhagandara (~fistula-in-ano) under Ashtamahagada (~eight conditions that are difficult to manage) on looking to its poor prognosis. It poses great impact in surgical community because of fear of recurrence and fecal incontinence. Complex anal fistulae are more difficult to manage, in spite of many new sphincter preserving techniques evolved. In Ayurveda, Ksharasutra is being practiced for the management of all types of anal fistulae with high success rate since centuries. Modified Conventional Ksharasutra Therapy (MC-KST) is technically modified to control sepsis, promote early healing by intercepting fistulous tract and preserving sphincteric function in cases of complex fistula-in-ano. A 50-year-old male patient of complex anal fistula for 2.5 years visited the outpatient department. The case was operated under local anesthesia by MC-KST technique. Total three sittings of Ksharasutra were done at an interval of a week. The wound was healed completely in 42 days, and no complaints of recurrence were reported in five months of follow-up. It was observed that MC-KST promotes early healing of fistulous tract by facilitating effective drainage and complete eradication of anal gland sepsis.

Migraine is ranked sixth among disability-causing diseases in the world. Patients with chronic migraine suffer from headaches 15 days or more in a month. Refractory migraine patients fail to respond to conventional treatments even after avoiding all migraine triggers. These patients continue to suffer in the absence of any established cause and cure. A patient suffering from chronic refractory migraine for about 37 years presented with daily headache associated with symptoms of nausea, vomiting, phonophobia, and photophobia. The patient underwent 9 months Ayurvedic treatment, including initial three weeks of residential treatment. The patient reported a considerable reduction in Visual Analog Scale score, Migraine-Induced Disability Assessment Score, duration/frequency of headache, consumption of analgesics, and improved general well-being indicating the therapeutic efficacy of Ayurvedic treatment.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder characterized by transient, nonscarring hair loss, especially on the scalp ranging from well-defined patches to diffuse or total hair loss with hair follicle preservation. It affects approximately 2% of the general population. This condition is described as Indralupta (~alopecia) in Ayurveda. The current presentation is a case report of 36-year-old female patient who visited the outpatient department with patchy hair loss of scalp over the vertex and occipital region and generalized hair loss for two years with no associated symptoms. The treatment was determined giving significance to systemic effects of disease along with localized pathology in the skin caused by the vitiation of Tridoshas (~three body humors). She was treated on outpatient level with Ayurvedic internal medications, external applications and Kuttanam (~a minor operative procedure) for four months. The uniqueness of this case is that transition of hairs from gray to black occurred over the course of a single hair follicle growth cycle. The phenomenon of natural reversal of depigmentation of hair in a single hair follicle growth cycle is not found in any of the scientific databases. The patient showed remarkable improvement including regeneration of black hair at the site of hair loss. During the follow-up period of two years, no recurrence was observed. This case report shows that holistic approach of Ayurvedic treatment can produce clinically significant results in Indralupta and shows possibility of application of these principles in repigmentation of hairs.

Dyslipidemia, in current times, is gradually increasing the incidences of heart disease and associated risks. Globally, one-third of ischemic heart diseases are caused due to the high levels of cholesterol. Dyslipidemia is a major cause of disease burden in both the developed and developing world as a risk factor for ischemic heart disease and stroke. In Ayurveda, dyslipidemia can be correlated with Medo dushti (~vitiated fatty tissue). The deranged lipid or fat molecules can be compared to Ama in the body. Ama is a type of Rasa pradoshaja vikara. Acharya Charaka has explained Langhana (~fasting) therapy in Rasaja vyadhi (~disease due to vitiated Rasa) that is known to initiate important cellular repair processes and causes changes in hormone levels to make accessible the available body fat. Langhana therapy is also beneficial for the maintenance of lipid profiles. Fasting by focusing Ayurveda protocol aids in the improvement of the lipid profiles in healthy, obese, and dyslipidemia patients. In the present case report, a 50-year-old male patient was treated with Langhana karma. After 10 days of strictly following the Ayurveda protocol of Langhana therapy, the serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides levels were decreased, inferring that the Langhana therapy is effective in the management of dyslipidemia.

Ulcerative colitis is an idiopathic, chronic inflammatory disorder of the colonic mucosa that commonly involves the rectum and may extend in a proximal and continuous fashion to involve other parts of the colon. Cardinal symptoms of this disease are bloody diarrhoea with rectal urgency and tenesmus with or without mucus, and abdominal pain which alleviates after defecation. Raktaja pravahika described in Ayurvedic treatise bears symptomatic and etiological resemblance with ulcerative colitis. A 26-year-old female who was suffering with Atipravahana of Purisha (~repeated defecation), Udarashoola (~abdominal pain), Saphena and Raktayukta purisha (~blood mixed frothy stools) for eight months was treated with Ayurvedic medicaments. Pichcha basti was administered in this patient followed by oral medications including Sanjivani vati, Dadimastaka churna and Bilva churna along with Pathya-apathya. After treatment of 15 months, the condition was improved from grade four to grade one, which was assessed through colonoscopy. This case report illustrates the significance of Ayurvedic treatment modalities in the management of ulcerative colitis.