Transient Synovitis

by Sheela Rani Chunkath

A friend’s grand-daughter (about a year and half old) living in Seattle was recently diagnosed with a condition called transient synovitis of the hip. Transient synovitis is an inflammation in the hip joint that causes pain, a limp and sometimes refusal to bear weight.

My friend’s granddaughter returned from daycare one day, laid down on her bed and couldn’t move one limb. The parents were of course terrified and could not fathom what was wrong. A visit to the Emergency Room where they had to wait for three hours did not help to calm their already frazzled nerves. From polio to paralysis - all seemed possible to the inexperienced parents. The physician calmed them down stating that it was an inflammation of the hip and that it was transient. The condition would right itself within a week or ten days. The doctors are not sure of the exact cause but attribute it to viral beginnings.

Upper respiratory infections and diarrhoea could apparently bring on an episode of viral transient synovitis. It is ironic that our young Indian parents would not use any of the Ayurvedic remedies which are extremely effective in curing upper respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea. For infants especially, Rajanayadi is like an all-in-one drug and works for about anything from a common cold, URI, fever and diarrhoea.

But our Western-educated elite have been so brain-washed by the so-called objectivity of double blind trials which proves the effectiveness of allopathic medicines that they have lost all regard for common sense. If a medication has survived for thousands or years it stands to reason that is has done so because it is effective and has no adverse side effects.

A nanny who was looking after some children was scared of the number of Ayurvedic medicines one takes for a common cold. So I reasoned with her saying that many Ayurvedic medications are made out of safe herbs and did not have any side effects unlike allopathic medications which come with dire warnings regarding damage to kidney, liver etc.

It left me wondering as to whether our method of education itself needs to be revamped so that there is a better understanding of our historic past, especially the history of our health systems which is the oldest continuously practiced health system in the world.

Going back to my friend’s family, the kid has had many episodes of cold and cough and a few even warranting hospital admission. And yet the father is so sold on allopathic treatment that he is unwilling to countenance any other treatment except allopathy.

In allopathy physicians do not know the cause of root diseases and hence they treat the symptoms only with drugs that do not improve the general immunity of the body.

Tylenol, which is America’s favorite drug, treats the symptoms of a cold and cough leaving the body susceptible to other viral infections, like transient synovitis. Now very likely if the kid had been given an immune-enhancing drug like Rajanayadi or Taleesadi at the first sign of a cold or fever it is very likely that one could have avoided the transient synovitis attack. I am still to fathom the psyche of parents who are willing to administer synthetic drugs which the allopathic practitioner prescribes and are yet so diffident about giving Ayurvedic preparations which have been around for hundreds of years and are prepared by reputed Ayurvedic drug manufacturers. I have known of parents in India who administer antibiotics practically every other month for routine colds and coughs which degenerate to upper respiratory infections and the like.

In the US, of course, routine use of antibiotics is absent, so a simple cold can degenerate into transient synovitis because the physicians, being non-interventionists expect the problem to sort itself out perhaps with a little help from Tylenol. In Ayurveda there are fantastic medications made from herbs which have antiviral properties and which are also immune-enhancing. These drugs can be used to keep viral infections in check and prevent them from causing more serious infections like transient synovitis.

I keep arguing with my allopathy-minded young friends as to what harm they possibly think that turmeric, pine, deodar or caraway (which are the main ingredients of Rajnayadi) could cause a young person. So next time your infant has the signs of a cold, cough, fever or diarrhoea reach out for Rajnayadi (after consulting your vaidyar regarding dosage of course) and prevent transient synovitis, roseola, swelling of lymph nodes, hand foot and mouth disease etc. The last is a common viral infection in the US and is now on the rise in India, and can also be prevented and treated with Rajnayadi.

Unlike many common infections like a minor cold or cough which may disappear on its own there is tremendous advantage in boosting the body’s natural immune system so that other more serious ailments do not follow.

--- The writer is retired Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/