Indian boxing: Home remedies and diet tips aim to keep boxers in fine fettle during the lockdown

If you have a headache, lie down on floor and apply cold pack on forehead for 10 minutes. Then drink a mixture of garlic juice, honey and clove.

If you have skin irritation, prepare oatmeal. See the recipe on YouTube. Apply evenly on the irritant skin surface and leave it for 10 minutes and then wash off. Repeat for next five days.

Call back if things don’t improve.

The Indian national team boxers, who are currently under lockdown at their respective homes due to the coronavirus pandemic, have been given many such instructions about home remedies to treat nasal congestion, flu or even a stomach upset and other routine health concerns as the team doctors and support staff look to ensure that expose themselves to possible doping violations by taking over the counter medications.

These instructions were first relayed to boxers during one-on-one video consultations immediately after the lockdown by team doctor Amol Patil, who then send a detailed WhatsApp message to all of them in due course to establish a protocol.

“The reasons behind boxers complaining about these common ailments are varied but we are more concerned with players inadvertently taking over the counter medicines which may have banned substances. These home remedies are a way to counter those challenges while we continue one-on-one consultation just to be sure that the problem is not getting worse,” Patil told Scroll.in from New Delhi.

“Though the players are constantly informed about banned substances, it is difficult for players to really understand if an OTC medicine has a banned substance by merely reading the content as the content regulation isn’t that stringent in India,” he said, adding, the players still have to keep updating their health conditions on a daily basis to avoid any delay in treatment.

Some common household remedies

1. Strong black coffee without sugar will relieve migraine
2. Organic oatmeal with water and lemon can help with constipation
3. Lemon juice and baking soda a tsp natural antacid and relieves symptoms of heart burns
4. Drinking orange juice with breakfast can protect you from cold or flu
5. Chicken soup without fat will help to ease stomach pain. Can apply warm compress.
6. Oatmeal for skin ailments

Asked whether the frequency of such complaints has increased after the lockdown and whether the stress of coping with the unfamiliar conditions was responsible for many of these problems, Patil said the frequency has been high but admitted that stress can be one of the contributing factors.

“It’s difficult to say that stress is the only factor. But being confined to four walls isn’t easy for them. It can be one of the reasons.

“Secondly, in the camp, their activities are regulated. But at home that might not be the case. They can be eating some spicy stuff or not having enough fiber in the diet. They can also be exposed to pollen since many come from farming background and the allergy can lead to cold or flu,” he added.

Patil is also looking to utilise the lockdown period to educate the players about the theory and practical implementation of nutrition, training methods by conducting a series of lectures for the boxers on the applied aspects of medicine on the players from Friday.

The Boxing Federation has also asked the National Anti Doping Association to conduct a special boxing specific workshop on April 22 in which the players will be explained the responsibilities of athletes’ support person, what are the boxers supposed to take care while submitting forms, sealing samples during the dope test and not just about the generic rules of Anti-Doping Rule Violations.

The coaches and the support staff are also spending almost half an hour to 45 minutes daily on one-on-one conversation with the boxers, discussing the problems identified through the training video uploaded by them and also hold one group session every day to maintain the overall camaraderie.