Black Fungus - A new threat to human life
The World is facing several issues at present be it Covid-19, Financial crisis, Medical crisis or loss of human lives. Along with all these horrible news, in India one more threat is occurring which is called Black Fungus.
What is Black Fungus?
Mucormycosis, which is commonly known as Black Fungus is reported in India from last 1-2 months. It is a very rare fungal disease and was not reported for many years and even if reported there were only a few cases. According to a recent report it has been declared as an endemic in Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India and many more states can be listed in future if it spreads at this frequency. Delhi itself has reported 185 cases.
Who at more risk and its effect?
Earlier it was only considered as a complication which occurs after intake of insulin in diabetes treatment but now it is affecting people who are recovering from Covid-19 especially those having diabetes, as the steroid drugs given for treatment reduces immunity. Increased use of chemotherapy and untreated wounds and burnt areas also leads to spread of infection.
It is most vulnerable kind of fungus disease with a high mortality rate. Being a rare infection exact mortality rate is not clear but estimation says that approximately 54 percent of people with Mucormycosis die.
Symptoms of the Black Fungus
Black fungus can affect different parts of the body and may show different set of symptoms for each body part. Some common symptoms include fever, cold, cough and headache.
Different symptoms for different body parts include:
- Infection in Sinus and brain: Fever, one side facial swelling, headache and nasal or sinus congestion
- Infection in lungs: Cough, chest pain and breathlessness
- Infection in digestive system: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and gastrointestinal bleeding.
- Swelling and pain in eyes, drooping of eyelids and blurred and loss of vision.
Treatment
Antifungal agents such as amphotericin B, isavuconazole and posaconazole can be used to treat the black fungus. But in severe cases doctors recommend surgery to remove the infected or dead tissue to prevent spread of the fungus. This may include removing parts of nose or eyes.
Precautions
As Mucormycosis is the mold which generally occurs from the soil, so there are some preventive measures which should be taken. One should follow:
- Critical care wards in hospitals should be sampled on regular basis to check presence of spores.
- Proper mask, gloves and long trousers should be used while gardening.
- Humidifiers used during oxygen therapy should be sterile
- Recovering patients should remain indoors until they gain their natural strength and immunity.
- Patient engaged in gardening should stay off the work until they are totally recovered.
- Some probiotics can be taken.
Along with all these precautions and medical treatments some home remedies can be also followed to get rid of this fungus. Some of the yogasanas can be practiced which help in boosting the immunity and treatment of the diseases such as low eyesight and diabetes.
Yogasana for low eyesight are:
- Chakrasana (wheel pose)
- Halasana
- Bakasana
- Sarvangasana
Yogasana for Diabetes:
- Kapalbhati
- SuptaMatsyendrasana
- Dhanurasana
- Shavasana
- ArdhaMatsyendrasana
Yogasana for boosting immunity:
- Shalabhasana
- Anjaneyasana
- Tadasana
Yogasana to ease breathing:
- Sukhasana
- Bhujangasana
- Matsyasana
- Padma Sarvangasana
- Pawanmuktasana
Doctor’s recommendation and treatment on time is necessary as it may lead to loss of vision of both eyes or even in severe cases it costs life. So if any of the symptoms occurs one should take prescription from doctors.