Overcome Eye Diseases with Ayurveda...Part 3

Incidentally, in a birthday party at a friend's house yesterday, I got this question from an aged neighbour of my friend, that what exactly is cataract? Is it really a film that grows on our eyes causing to see double or blurred images? They were curious to know if there is some ayurvedic treatment available for this disease or they will have to go through the eye surgery to get rid of this problem. I explained them about this in detail and let me also write about it here for the benefits of the readers. To start with, let us first see the difference of vision in eyes for "Without Cataract" and "With Cataract" below:

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A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens, the part of the eye responsible for focusing light and producing clear, sharp images. The lens is contained in a sealed bag or capsule. As old cells die they become trapped within the capsule. Over time, the cells accumulate causing the lens to cloud, making images look blurred or fuzzy. For most people, cataracts are a natural result of aging. In fact, they are the leading cause of visual loss among adults 55 and older. Eye injuries, certain medications, and diseases such as diabetes and alcoholism have also been known to cause cataracts.

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Partial or complee opacity of the eye lens is also known as Timira in Ayurveda. In its initial stage vision of the patient is impaired and he sees imaginary things like cobweb. With the prgress of the disease, impairment of vision also increases. In the end, complete loss of vision may occur.

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There are some very good known ayurvedic treatments available to cure Cataract. Some of them are:

• Take Triphala Churna - 6 to 12 gram with 12 to 24 gram Ghee thrice a day
• Take Ghrta Sidhha with Rhizome of Haridra (turmeric) and root of Usira (Khas) - 12 to 24 gram, twice a day
• Equal part of powder of Triphala, root of Yastimadhu (glycyrrhiza) - 3 to 6 gram, when taken with honey or ghee thrice a day, will surely improve the symptoms
• Apply Anjana of Rasanjana, Kasisa (green vitriol) and Guda (Jaggery) in the eye
• Apply Anjana of powder of equla part of fruit of Pippali (Long Pepper) and Saindhava (Rock Salt) prepared in honey in the eye
• Retain a Kavala (Mouth Wash) of cold water in the mouth as long you can hold - do it thrice a day - it improves the pressure in the eyes
• Take 1 litre of fruit juice af Amalaki (embelic myrobalan), concentrate it and add ghee - 50 gram and honey - 50 gram. Apply it in the eye using a cloth
• Practice Bhramri Yogasan for at least 15 minutes everyday for 90 days and you will see excellent results for sure

These are all independent treatments and need not take/perform all to be cured. sleect one or two you think you can do comfortably. My recommendation is to start practicing Bhramari for sure as it has shown miraculous results in this disease.

With this, I will conclude the Eye Diseases Series of Posts and will focus on some other diseases and their treatments from next post onwards.

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Overcome Eye Diseases with Ayurveda...Part 2

Today, we will talk about two more eye diseases that are prevalent in world. Though these have good medication present in the Ayurvedic medical science, even then people are not able to take benefits of these since the awareness is at very low level. In fact, Night Blindness is one of the those eye diseases that can be compeltely cured with the help of Ayurveda. First, we will talk about Trachoma.
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Trachoma (Pothaki): It is a contagious disease characterized by appearance of small and red colored papules in the conjunctiva of the eyelid and accompanied by itching, pain and lacrimation.
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Treatments:

• 1 to 2 gram powdered seed of Brhad-Ela (Larger Cardamom) and take with 5 to 10 gram Sarkara (raw sugar) thrice a day
• Foment the eyes with the mixtureof bark of Khadira (Khair) and seeds of Adhaki (pigeon pea) and Sigru (Horse Radish), after the eyes have been washed with tepid warm water
• Foment the eyes with the mixture of rhizome of Haridra (turmeric) and roots of Daruharidra (barberry) and Yastimadhu (glycyrrhzia) mixed with honey
• Apply an Anjana of seed of Cakramarda (Foetid Cassia) at bed time
• Apply an Anjana of Laghu Haritki (smaller variety of chebulic myrobalan) with honey at bed time

Night Blindness (Naktandhya): This is a disease caused by the vitiation of Kapha and in which the patient is unable to see in the night but can see very well in the day light.

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We have another variety of Night Blindness which is called Nyctalope or Nakulandhya in which patient in the day also sees peculiar outlines and his eyes (iris) shine like that of a mongoose (Nakula)

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Treatments:

• Leaves of Jivanti fried in ghee needs to be taken in 6 to 12 gram dose thrice a day
• Leaf Juice (Svarasa) of Agastya - 12 to 14 ml or its Kalka - 12 to 24 gram fried in 10 gram ghee needs to be taken twice a day
• Apply Anjana prepared from the fine powder of leaf stalk of Kapittha (wood apple) or its ash in honey sufficient to make a paste
• Apply Anjana of Aja-Yakrt (Goat's Liver) concentrated in mixture of Triphala
• Take equal parts of stamens of Sveta Kamala (White Lotus) and Nila Kamala (Blue Lotus). Wash in freshly prepared Gomaya Rasa and make a Varti. Apply it as Anjana with rose water in eyes
• Anjana prepared from the juice of Sallaki (Indian Olibanum) upto 10 ml and honey upto 1 gram, needs to be applied twice a day
• Mixture of leaf of Udumbara (gular fig) concentrated to the solid consistency can be used as Anjana
• Prepare pottalika (small bag) of equal part of powder of root of Gambhari, fruit rinds of Haritki (chebulic myrobalan) and Amalaki (embelic myrobalan) and dip in distilled water. Few drops to be instilled in eyes from Pottalika
• Mix Rasanjana - 600 mg in Nari Dugdha (human milk) - 10 ml and instill its 2 to 4 drops in the eyes or dissolve 1.25 gram of pure Rasanjana in 10 ml distilled water. Add 10 ml honey and instill its 2 to 4 drops into the eyes
• Lepa of fruit rind of Haritki (chebulic myrobalan) fried in ghee and mixed in water to be applied on the eyes
• Make a paste (Kalka) of root of Bhumayamlki with Saindhava Namak (Rock Salt) and Kanji in a copper bath and apply on the eyes as Lapa

In next post, I will talk about Cataract and few other eye diseases.

Overcome Eye Diseases with Ayurveda...Part1

Eyes Diseases are prevalent in most of the world but they are more found in the tropical countries and mostly at the time of monsoon when the moisture in the air is more and there is free communication of virus and bacteria from one human to another. Also, the changing weather makes the human beings little less strong in immunity which again leads to viruses and bacteria increased attacks. Ayurveda divides the Eye diseases in different types on the basis of their symptoms. Let us see some of the diseases and medicines for them.

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Conjuctivitis (Netrabhisyanda): This is an eye disease characterized by the inflammation and rednesss of the conjuctiva accompanied by various types of pain and watery discharge from the eye. Its other symptoms include feeling of stiffness, burning sensation, heavyness ir itching in eys and headache. In some cases pus may also form.

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Treatments:

• Take Ghrta (Ghee) - 12 to 24 gram with meal or with 5 gram sarkara (raw sugar) thrice a day
• Take 100 ml Dugdha (Milk) Siddha (prepared) in the decoction of Tripahla twice a day
• Ghrta (Ghee) - 12 to 24 gram. Siddha in the decoction of Dasamula or of Triphala needs to be taken twice a day
• Dugdha (Milk) Siddha - 100 to 250 ml. siddha with root of Satavari (wild asaparagus) - 12 to 24 gram and juice of Ardraka (Ginger) - 7 ml is to be taken thrice a day

External Applications:

1. Foment the eye with cotton dipped in warm ghee or hot Aja Dugdha (Goat's milk) or warm Tila Taila (Gingelly oil)
2. Make solution of Shudha Tankana (Purified Borax) in hot water and foment the eye
3. Prepare Pottalika (Small bag) of hot payasa and foment the eye
4. Netrabindu - Instil its 2 - 4 drops in the eyes 4 times a day
5. Phulikadrava - Instil its 2 to 4 drops in the eyes 4 times a day

In my next post, I will talk about Trachoma and Night Blindness.

Back Pain - Prevention and Cure

Back Pain has become one of the most common ailments in the world today, specially with the people who have long sitting hours at work or otherwise. There are different types of back pains ranging from pain in the upper back to spinal cord pain to pain in the lower back etc. and we will discuss in terms of their causes, prevention, cure and best practices that we should in our life style to make sure that our body is away from it. According to ayurvedic philosophy, excess 'apana' in the body is responsible for lower back pain. Hence, the body needs to be detoxified of this element. One of the most effective ways to detoxifying your body is to to take Castor oil thrice a week for a month.

Few of the methods that can help cure Back Pain are:

• The administration of a herbal preparation (such as Asthavargam) is essential to bring the vitiated dosha back to a normal state
• An ayurvedic internal treatment method called 'Panchakarma' is also good to treat back pain. This treatment method includes administration of a full body massage (Abhyanga) and/or meditated enema (Basti) to lubricate the inside walls of the intestine and empty the bowels. Daily purgation, according to ayurveda, helps reduce back pain
• Certain ayurvedic preparations can also be given to reduce back pain. These medications include Lakshadiguggul, Mahanarayana tailam, Triphala Guggul, and Yogarajaguggul. Their consumption leads to an internal action on the causes of back pain.

Few More Methods of Ayurvedic Back Pain Treatment

• Yogasana: One more method to treat back pain ayurvedically mostly include performing yogasanas. The postures that can be done to reduce back pain include the following simple back bend poses: Marjari Asana (Cat pose), Salabhasana Asana (Locust pose), Chakravak Asana (Sunbird pose). It is advised that people suffering from back pain take and strictly follow the advice of their yoga teacher. Doing this would avoid possibilities of any further damage to the lower back
• Breathing Posture: For more stability of spine, it is advised in ayurveda that the breathing posture needs to be corrected. Hence, if you have back pain then inhale in a manner which allows your breath to reach the bottom of your spine. This would result in a relaxed feeling in the full length of the spine as well as the lower back region.
• Aromatherapy: Ayurveda also recommends the use of aromatherapy to reduce back pain. This method is both- external as well as internal. Oils of natural herbs such as basil, cinnamon, frangipani, or henna could be poured into hot water and its vapors inhaled.
• Sleep Well: When it comes to sleeping, good mattresses are important. A good mattress would give ample support to your back. Too hard or too soft mattresses can ruin the posture of our back and can cause or aggravate back pain. We normally ignore the fact that we spend close to one-third of our life in the bed. What is also ignored is that it is highly important to remain in the correct posture while we are sleeping in our bed. The situation aggravates when one sleeps on a too soft or too hard mattress. Such a mattress does not provide proper support to the back. When this is ignored for an excessively long period of time, it becomes the cause of back pain.

Ayurveda can cure Swine Flu

Whenever there is a change in the environment due to spurt in growth of any kind of virus, human beings are the first one to be affected by it. These days, there is a panic all around due to swine flu. On the basis of symptoms like cough, cold, sore throat and fever, one cannot be considered as a patient of swine flu but still people do not want to take chances and getting them checked at special centres and taking preventive medicines. The problem is that the most popular medical science i.e. Allopathy, does not yet offer a preventive medicine or a vaccine for Swine flu. Though, it has the cure but few people know that Ayurveda can cure swine flu like anything and most of all, the medicines have far less side effects. Dr Bhagwan Singh, principal and superintendent of State Ayurvedic College, Lucknow, says, "The disease (swine flu) and its treatment is already mentioned in our old books of medicines by sages. On the basis of the symptoms of swine flu, it has been given the name `vatashlesmic' fever in the ayurvedic medicine books."

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For treating a patient infected with H1N1 virus, ayurvedic medicines like Sanjawini Vati and Tribhuvan Kriti Ras can be given. These medicines are prepared by mixing 12-14 ayurvedic ingredients selected on the basis of the symptoms of the viral disease. Ayurveda claims to have preventive medicine for H1N1 infection also. As I said earlier, on the basis of symptoms like cough, cold, sore throat and fever, one cannot be considered as a patient of swine flu. So to be on the safer side, one could take a medicine named as Gurahi for the sake of prevention. Apart from this, one can also have tea or hot water adding black tulsi leaves to it and following other hygienic practices like using mask etc."

Prameha (Diabetes) – How to control the deadly disease

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder in which the body is unable to make proper use of glucose resulting in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and glycosuria (sugar in urine). Poorly managed diabetes can lead to a host of long-term complications like Heart attacks, strokes, blindness, nerve damage and even impotence in men.

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Diabetes can be controlled and it has been verified by various studies. As per Ayurveda There are 20 forms of this disease: 4 are due to Vata, 6 result from Pitta, and 10 are caused by Kapha. But prameha is mainly kapha dosha disease.

Causes

• Diet- increasing kapha dosha such as sugar, fats, potatoes, rice
• Lack exercise
• Mental stress and strain
• Excessive sleep etc.

Symptoms

• Excessive urine formation & Frequent urination
• Burning of palms and soles
• Increased hunger
• Excessive Thirst
• Sweet taste to mouth etc.
• Weight Loss
• Blurry Vision
• Wounds that take time to heal
• Skin Infections
• Unexplained extreme fatigue

Remedies

• Diet planning- is the cornerstone of managing diabetes.The diabetic diet is an otherwise normal balanced diet, with a few modifications and proper spacing between food intakes. Avoid diet increasing kapha dosha such as sugar, fats, potatoes, rice. Avoid alcohol
• Daily exercise- One of the methods to heal prameha include strenuous exercises. Regular exercise in any form is a must. In 'Yogasanas' - Forward bending asanas like 'Paschimottanasan','Halasan' etc. are effective
• Restrict and reduce weight
• Avoid sleeping during daytime.
• Avoid smoking
• Try to reduce stress by implementing & practicing Yoga

Useful herbs

• Jambhul (Eugenia jambolana) Powder from jamun core is useful.
• Gurmar(gymnema sylvestre)
• Sagar gota (Ceasalpinia crista)
• Bel (Aegle marmelos)
• Shilájit
• Turmeric
• Neem
• Triphala

Liver Cirrhosis - Ayurveda can help cure this

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What is Liver Cirrhosis: Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver that occurs as a result of chronic liver disease. People who have cirrhosis, the cells of the liver are damaged and can’t repair themselves. As liver cells die, scar tissue forms. When this scar tissue builds up, blood can’t flow through the liver properly.

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It is caused by:

• Excessive Alcohol consumption
• Conversion from hepatitis C or hepatitis B
• Disorder of excretory system of Liver
• Consuming any harmful chemicals etc.

Major symptoms are:

1. Weight Loss or Weight Gain abnormally
2. Nausea
3. Symptoms similar to Jaundice like yellowing of palms, eyes etc
4. Loss of appetite
5. Visible blood vessels on skin
6. Fatigue or weakness

Ayurvedic Remedies:

• Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna) - This is the most useful medicine for this disease. The bark is useful as an anti-ischemic and cardioprotective agent in hypertension and in ischemic heart disease. It also has a tonic effect in cases of cirrhosis of the liver
• Boerhavia diffusa (Punarnava) - An alcoholic extract of whole plant Boerhavia diffusa given orally exhibited hepato-protective activity against experimentally induced carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity.
• Eclipta alba (Bhringaraj) - It is the main herb for treating liver disorders. It is normally given after mixing with ethanol in same quantities and it helps the liver by regulating the levels of hepatic microsomal drug metabolising enzymes
• Tinospora cordifolia (Guduchi) : This herb is used to treat HIV/AIDS, other immune diseases, and pita diseases. It is used as a blood purifier, to treat fever, and to aid recovery from fevers. It is also used for jaundice, digestion, constipation, hemorrhoids, dysentery, and cancer
• Glycyrhhiza (licorice or Mulathhi) : Licorice root has been used in both Eastern and Western medicine to treat a variety of illnesses, including liver disease.

Jewels from a rare herbal garden in India

Recently, I got the opportuntity to visit a large and ancient herbal garden in the himalayas and it was amazing to see lot of plants that I always wanted to see but could not, because they were not available anywhere around. One such herb was Bahera or Terminalia bellirica which is also known as Vibhitak, Aksh , Karshfal or Kalidrumu in Sanskrit. This is very useful herbal plant for many disease conditions. It helps to cure hair fall, increase eye sight and improve eye pain, reduce fever due to kapha, reduce hridya vaat etc.

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Bahera, as it is popularly called, acts more beneficially id it is mixed with some other material. Like if it is taken after mixing with sugar (shakkar), the laar issue form mouth goes away completely. Likewise, it can altogether remove cough (be it dry or otherwise) if taken as mixed with goat's milk with black salt.

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It is found in all of India (though I could not see it earlier so closely) and it's tree is 60 to 80 feet in height , straight and dark brown in colour. The flowers are white or yellowish 3 - 6 inches long and are in groups. The fruit is half inch in diameter and looks like a pentogon after it dries up.

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It is also known as tridosh-har but it is mostly used in kaph related problems. It is also very useful ingredient of most famous formulation ‘Triphala' which is useful in acidity and constipation. It removes excessive ‘kapha' which is main cause of loss of appetite. It removes the coating of ‘kapha' from the intestines and aids in the proper excretion of juices. Other than the problems stated above, it is also seen to help in curing potency issues in men, diarrohhea and high fever.

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In the next posts, I will discuss on more rare herbs and their uses as medicines.

Arthritis or Joint Pains - A common disease

Joint pains or Arthritis is a common problem these days. Whenever winter comes, it increases. According to Ayurveda mostly pains are caused by the aggravation of vata (air), dosha. Arthritis is a condition which is caused by accumulation of Ama and aggravation of vata. Ama is a toxic by-product of improper digestion. When the food we eat is not digested completely by the digestive fire, it produces a toxic substance called Ama. This Ama circulates in the whole body and deposits or gets collected at the sites which are weaker.

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It causes many diseases in the body depending on the location of deposition. For example, dangerous asthama is one which is caused by deposits in the lungs. If it deposits in the intestines it causes dysentery. When it deposits in the joints and at the same time there is aggravation of vata, that means if biological humor air is also disturbed, it results in a disease called Ama vata. This Ama vata is arthritis. Thus the patient generally has a weak digestion. A history of wind and constipation is usually found in these cases. People who overeat or eat too much fried foods, sweets, meats etc. and have no or very little physical activity can develop this problem.

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Symptoms:

The main symptom of this disease is severe pain in the affected joints. The muscles, ligaments, synovial membrane and cartilage get inflamed and the movement of the joint becomes extremely painful, specially in cold, windy and damp weather. If the condition is not treated properly, the joint becomes immobile and this may ultimately lead to deformity of the joint. Sometimes it is associated with fever. Infact, these days fever has become a regular part of arthritis symptoms and it raises the infection levels in the body shown by allopathic pathological test ESR.

Cure: Ayurvedic herbs are quite successful in curing the arthritic joint pains and there are a lot of herbs that can be used here. Some of them are:

• Ashwagandha - Also called as winter cherry in the west. This is one of the wonder herbs as stated by Ayurveda and curing joint pains is just one of the uses of this one.
• Alflafa - The tea of alfalfa reduces the joint pains considerably specially in the early stages
• Dandelion - Magnesium is something which is required for proper mineralization of the bones and dandelion is rich in magnesium. It's use make the bones stronger and joint pains can be prevented
• Vishwagarbha taila - If the joint pains are due to trauma, then Vishwagarbha taila is prescribed for external application over the region where the joint pain is felt. For internal administration, the patient can take rasnadi guggulu.

Above are few curing herbs for joint pains but as they say prevention is better than cure and it is more than 100% right in case of joint pains. Certain good living habits can make sure that arthritis can be delayed by at least 10 years and hence 10 more years of comfort

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