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Diseases of Vata, Pitta and Kapha

Diseases of Vata, Pitta and Kapha

March  2017   Shanti Gowans

Different sciences analyse the material world from various perspectives and angles, and present a collection of successful data in a methodological manner. In Indian science, a philosophical approach is taken and can be seen very clearly. This philosophical background is common for the arts, sciences and technology.

Ayurveda approaches knowing any kind of substance through its properties. According to Ayurveda, eveything in the material universe, including the human body, is a modified reflection of its external environment. The five great elements (pancha mahabhutas) contain a group of properties which are the basic building blocks of everything in the material universe. The rishis (ancient sages of India) presented a logical grouping of these properties and classified then as Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which are the biological equivalents of satwa, rajas and tamas.

A reflection of the sun, moon, wind and so on, in the external environment can be seen in the human body.

– The wind represents transportation and a regulating force

– The sun represents an energy source

– The moon represents a material source.

These three concepts are respectively represented by Vata (wind), Pitta (fire) and Kapha (earth/water) in a living body and this gross approach is primarily philosophical and physiological rather than anotomical in its perspective. In fact, these are three windows through which we can observe, analyse and find solutions to almost all of human nature and illnesses.

For the proper functioning of any mechanical or biological system three factors are necessary:

– a structural formation

– an energy converting system and

– a regulatory system.

In the human body, these factors are represented by Kapha (mucous), Pitta (bile) and Vata (wind), respectively and are called the tridoshas, the three humours. In their normal condition, they sustain the body, while in an abnormal condition, they destroy it.

Though the doshas pervade all over the body,

– kapha is located above cardiac region

– pitta is located between the cardiac and umbilical region, and

– vata is located below the umbilical region.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha ( wind, bile and mucous) become aggravated during the end, middle, and beginning of the day, respectively. The same cycle continues during the night and also during digestion.

A balanced state of these factors leads to perfect health, and an imbalanced state of any one of these leads to illness. A genuine physician knows the six prevaling factors of a disease, which are doshic

– accumulation

– aggravation

– overflowing

– lodgement in a particular place

– manifestation and

– classification or dissolution of these doshas.

Vata

Symptoms of aggravation of Vata, Wind

– A bad taste in the mouth, roughness of the skin and irregularity in the power of digestion, emaciation, hyper- pigmentation of the skin, tremours, an abnormal pulse, abnormal pulsation in the body, an affinity for heat (in climate, food and so on), fainting, insomnia, inspired sense, acute pain in the bones, depletion of tissues, constipation, flatulence, hyper peristaltic movements, loss of concentration, fear, great and irregular speed in activities such as thinking, speech etc..

– Spreads acute pain to the lumbar and pelvic regions, liver, spleen, back of the chest, abdomen, testicles etc.

– Rigidity and contraction in the hands and legs as well as muscle cramps

– Vata becomes aggravated during the night and is reduced during the daytime.

– Pain can instantaneously be diminished or abated.

Diseases of Vata

Ayurveda outlines 80 diseases implicated by the aggravation of wind

1.Splitting of nails

2. Cracking feet

3. Pain in the feet

4 Foot drop, collapsed instep

5 Numbness in the feet

6. Club foot

7. Stiff ankles

8. Cramps in the calf muscles

9. Sciatica

10. Bow leddedness, janu varum,

11. Knock knees, janu valgum

12. Stiffness and fullness in the thighs

13. Pain and weakness in the thighs

14. Paraplegia

15. Rectal prolapse

16. Tenesmus (gudarti)

17. Scrotal pain

18. Stiffness in the penis

19. Fullness in the groin

20. Pelvic pain

21. Hard stools

22. Abdominal distension with constipation

23. Lameness, kyphosis

24. Dwarfism, Gigantism

25. Pain and stiffness in the sacroiliac joint

26. Stiffness in the back

27. Chest pain

28. Spasmodic abdominal pain

29. Bradycardia

30. Tachycardia/heart palpitations

31. A rubbing chest pain

32. Impairment of thoracic movement

33. Pricking chest pain

34. Atrophy of the arms

35. Stiffness in the neck

36. Torticollis

37. Hoarseness of voice

28. Jaw pain

39. Lip pain

40. Eye pain

41. Toothache

42. Loose teeth

43. Dampness

44. Lalling

45. An astringent taste in the mouth

46. Dryness in the mouth

47. Ageusia

48. Anosmia

49. Earache

50. Tinnitus

51. Hard of hearing, hearing loss, hearing impairment

52. Deafness

53. Ptosis of the eyelids

54. Entropion

55. Amaurosis

56 Pain in the eyes

57. Ptosis of the eyeballs

58. Ptosis of the eyebrows

59. Pain in the temporal region

60. Pain in the frontal region of the head

61. Headaches

62. Dandruff

63. Facial paralysis

64. Monoplegia

65. Polyplegia

66. Hemiplegia

67. Clonic seizures

68. Tonic seizures

69. Fainting, giddiness

71. Tremours

72. Yawning

73. Hiccups

74. Asthenia

75. Delirium, excessive talking

76. Dryness, Hardness

78. Dusky dark appearance

79. Insomnia

80. An unstable mind.

Treatment for the diseases of Vata

1. Fomentation and oleation.

2. Mild elimination.

3. Medicines and a diet with sweet, sour and salty tastes.

4. Medicines and diet should be hot.

5. Alcohol made from molasses.

6. Regular intake of medicated enemas with unctuous and heating medicines.

7. Leisurely and ordered living.

8. Oil, ghee, etc.,boiled with medicines that are digestant, stimulating and carminative.

9. Application of hot ointment followed by a hot medicated bath

10. A diet that includes hot soups and warm milk.

Pitta

Pitta dosha becomes aggravated by

– Anger, grief, fear, exertion, sexual intercourse

– Fasting, an intake of pungent, sour, salty, sharp, hot ingredients, such as chillis and spicy food, sesame or mustard oil, fried and oily food, and yoghurt, are harmful to Pitta’s digestion and cause indigestion, leading to acid formation,

– heat, during summer, at the end of the rainy season, during midday, and midnight, and during the time of the digestion of food.

Symptoms of aggravated Pitta

Yellow coloration of the skin, giddiness, weakness, defective functioning of the sense organs, destruction of ojas, a desire for cold things, burning sensations, a bitter taste in the mouth, excessive thirst, fainting, reduced sleep and anger.

Diseases of Pitta

Ayurveda outlines 40 diseases implicated by the aggravation of pitta dosha in the body, namely:

1.Burning sensation

2. Scorching

3. Burning

4. Boiling

5. Fuming

6. Acid regurgitation (gastroesophageal reflux)

7. Pyrosis (heartburn)

8. Internal burning sensation

9. Burning sensation in the shoulder

10.Excessive temperature

11. Profuse sweating

12. Foetid body smell; unpleasant body odour

13. Cracking body ache

14. Sloughing of blood

15. Sloughing of muscles

16. Burning sensation in the skin

17. Cracking of the skin

18. Itching of the skin

19. Urticaria

20. Red vesicle formation

21. Bleeding disorders

22. Red round patches

23. Greenish discoloration

24. Yellowish discoloration

25. Blue spot

26. Herpes

27. Jaundice

28. Bitter taste in the mouth

29. Metallic odour from the mouth

30. Bad odour from the mouth

31. Excessive thirst

32. Dissatisfaction

33. Stomatitis

34. Pharyngitis

35. Conjunctivitis

36. Proctitis

37. Inflammation of the penis

38. Hemorrhage

39. Fainting

40. Greenish or yellowish discoloration of the eyes, urine or stools.

In addition to these, there can be pitta giddiness, a feeling of intoxication, dryness in the mouth, delirium, diarrhea, anorexia, fever, desire for cooling things etc.

Treatment for the diseases of pitta dosha

1.An intake of clarified butter (ghee)

2. Purgation with the use of medication that is sweet and cooling

3. Medicines and a diet with sweet, bitter and pungent tastes

4. Bathing in a perfume-scented bath

5. External application of camphor and sandalwood paste

6. Wearing a pearl necklace

7. Practicing patience

8. Exposure during the early hours of the night to the moon’s rays from the rooftop

9. Associating with friends who are spirited and informal

10. Speaking with people whose speech is pleasant and sweet

11. Associate with people who are laid back, burn camphor perfume and wear special ornaments

12. Living in a cold house (with underground rooms) through which a steam flows

13. Going for a walk in parks and on the banks of lakes

14. Sit by a lake, on the sand, which has well formed banks and clean water.

Special regimens to alleviate Pitta

Sit on the bank of a lotus pond

Walk through a park with plentiful trees

Enjoy pleasing gestures from others

Include milk and clarified butter in the diet

Purgation.

Kapha

Kapha becomes aggravated through

– lack of exercise, lazy habits, sleep during the daytime and other wrong regimens.

– eating sweet, sour, salty, cold, unctuous, heavy food, such as wheat

– slimy food which obstructs the channels of circulation, for instance yoghurt, fish, milk, alkaline food, puddings, sugarcane juice, pastries prepared from sesame seeds, tahini

– intake of excess food

– eating before previous food is digested

Symptoms of aggravated Kapha

Pallour, coldness, flabbiness, obesity, laziness, heaviness, loss of strength in the body, obstruction of channels, fainting, excess sleep, drowsiness, dyspnoea, coughing, excessive salivation, nausea, loss of digestive power, abnormal function of the joints.

Kapha becomes specially aggravated by coldness, during winter and spring, in the forenoon, in the evening, and soon after eating.

Diseases of Kapha

Ayurveda outlines 20 diseases implicated by the aggravation of kapha dosha, namely:

1. Anorexia

2. Drowsiness

3. Excessive sleep

4. Timidness

5. Heaviness in the body

6. Lethargy

7. Sweet taste in the mouth

8. Salivation

9. Mucous expectoration

10. Excessive excretion of foeces,

11. Weakness, indigestion

12. A feeling like the heart is covered

13. Phlegm adhered to the throat

14. Hardening of the blood vessels

15. Goitre

16. Obesity

17. Loss of appetite or digestive fire

18. Urticaria

19. Pallour

20 Whiteness of urine, eyes and stools.

In addition to these, cardiac diseases, itching over the body, excessive horripilation, ineffectiveness of wisdom, vomiting, chronic rhinitis, bronchitis, sensation in lips, throat, tongue, gums, palate, nose, eyes, ears and earlobes.

Treatment for Kaphic Diseases

1. Administration of emetic and inhalation of sharp, penetrating drugs

2. Intake of light and ununctuous food

3. Exercise, kneading, medicated smoke inhalation, medicated gargles

4. Fat reducing medications

5. Fomentation

6. Intake of old wheat, honey

7. Aged alcoholic drinks (medicinal doses)

8. Avoid daytime sleep.

As wind is ununctuous, cold and light, warm gingili (sesame) oil alleviates wind (vata).

Bile is hot, not sweet and sharp, so ghee (clarified butter ) alleviates bile (pitta).

Mucous is unctuous, sweet and sluggish. So honey, which is astringent and has a scraping action, alleviates it (kapha).