1060 Are Ayurvedic Solutions really possible alternatives fo haemodialysis patients?

Trigger for this blogpost: I am not a Medical Doctor. Nor am I, any Medical Expert. Hence, this Blogpost is not to be viewed as a substitute for Medical Prescription from a Qualified Doctor, who is licensed to treat people. I am just trying to create awareness. I have already made some posts about Ayurveda and Homoeopathy, at this blog, particularly the shortcomings of Ayurveda (India's Ancestral Native System of Healing) and Homoeopathy. I am giving links to those posts, at bottom of this post. During the last one or two years, I have come across a number of acquaintances and friends suffering from diabetes, diabetes led kidney complications, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and numerous other problems. They had to undergo dialysis for some weeks, with not much of an improvement, and finally had to lose their lives. In the meantime, they have to mobilise moneys for dialyses and other expenses. I have also come across some persons suffering from Chronic Astma, Psoriasis. Personally, I view that among the available medical systems available today in this world, the Modern (Allopathic) System of Medicine appears to be the best, provided we have the moolah to shell down, whenever the Doctors and Hospital Authorities advise us to pay/deposit. Or alternatively, we should have REALLY DEPENDABLE CASHLESS TREATMENT ARRANGEMENTS either through Government Health Care Policies or through Public Sector Health Insurance Policies. We cannot say the same thing about Private Sector Insurance Policies. At the time of Collecting Premium, and issuing Policy/Cover Note billions of promises are made, and when it comes to providing Cashless healthcare or honoring a Reimbursement Claim, Trillions of queries are raised just to avoid/evade payment. Another unfortunate feature in Indian Hospitals, is-- many Hospitals treat dead bodies of patients as 'pledges' (security pawned to money-lenders, similar to what we pawn our gold rings or wrist watches when we need money badly). The Hospitals will not release the dead-body unless and until all their lucre demands are met.

A beautiful ancient Sanskrit proverb, which applies more to 21st Century, rather than to the millennia gone-by

వైద్య రాజ నమస్తుభ్యం
యమరాజ సహోదరః
యమస్తు హరతి ప్రాణాన్
వైద్యః ప్రాణాన్ ధనానిచ

English script: vaidya rAjA namas tubhyam
yamaraja sahOdaraha
yamastu harati prANAn
vaidyaha prANAn dhanAnica

Devanagari Hindi Script
वैद्य राज नमस तुभ्यं
यम राज सहोदरः
यमस्तु हरति प्राणान
वैद्यः प्राणान् धनानिच

English Gist: Oh King of Doctors! Salute to you!
You are the brother of the God of Death (name: Yama)
Yama knocks away only lives
Doctor knocks away both lives and money.

Ayurveda's Main shortcomings

The main weakness of Ayurvedic Medicines is: Many of them contain "Mercury" (Telugu language: pAda rasam). This part of medical treatment is called 'rasa vaidyam'. Such Ayurvedic medicines which contain mercury may have names with suffixes such as 'rasA or rasam'. According to Scientific Investigations, consuming medicines which contain mercury may have harmful side effects, though may not be immediately fatal. Of course, Ayurvedic Doctors and aficionados defend the use of mercury in medicines, say that mercury before getting admission into medicines, will get "samskArams" i.e. purification processes. In my personal view, this argument may not be correct, because by washing mercury with cow's urine, or by melting and remelting mercury in kilns and crucibles etc. processes, its basic characteristics may not change.

I have been pointing out this problem since 2011. Click here to go to http://ayurvedayb.blogspot.in/search/label/006. To some extent this problem seems to have been remedied in respect of Ayurvedic medicines exported from India, probably owing to the stringent import and drug control regulations imposed by U.S.A., and some European countries. In India also, there is some marginal shift from 'mercury-containing-remedies' to 'purely herbal remedies'. This change is welcome.

I also greatly appreciate baidyanath, manufacturer of the medicine punarnavAdi kwAth for another reason

As per Ayurvedic Drug Regulations in India, Manufacturers of Traditional Ayurvedic Medicines have to menton on the Packing, the name of the Traditional Ayurvedic Book, based on which, their medicinal preparation has been made. Many Manufacturers are not adhering to this rule. We should be grateful that Baidyanath is following this Rule.

From the above image, Readers will find that :Sarngdhara Samhita is the Traditional Ayurvedic Book which is the source for their making the punarnavAdi kwAth. kwAth or kashAyam means a boiled decoction. Adi= etc. (other ingredient herbs, in addition to punarnava). Punarnava = Boerhaavia diffusa. Other ingredients, the first verse in the image in Roman Script:

punarvAmritA dAru pathyA nAgara sAdhitaha
gO mUtra guggulu yutaha kwAthas sOphOdarA pahaha.

punarnava = Boerhaavia diffusa.
amrita= Telugu language tippa tIgE.= Sanskrit, Hindi, Telugu: guDUci. Botanical Name: Tinospora cordifolia.
dAru = dEvadAru. Cedrus deodara. Family: Pinaceae.
Pathyā (पथ्या):—Another name for Harītakī (Terminalia chebula). Telugu: karakkAya.
nagara= Umbrella Sedge, Nutgrass, Nutsedge, Purple Nutsedge , Hindi: नागरमोथा Nagarmotha , Marathi: lawala , Tamil: koraikkilangu, nakamuttakkacu , Malayalam: korakizhanna , Telugu: kolatungamuste, tungagaddalaveru , Kannada: konnarigadda, nagarmusthe , Urdu: Nagarmotha, Sadkofi , Sanskrit: chakranksha, charukesara, chudalapindamusta, kachharuha, kalapini, nadeyi, nagar-mustaka. Botanical name: Cyperus scariosus. Family: Cyperaceae (Sedge family).
sAdhita= This word seems to mean "mixed, and ground". In the Telugu explanation in the following image, first verse, there is a reference to sonThi= dried ginger, mixed and dried with Lime (Calcium Oxide or Calcium Hydroxide).

guggulu cUrNam= Powder of guggulu, i.e. Commiphora mukul.
gO mUtra =cow's urine.
GokshUrA (Tribulus terrestris) also seems to be used. But, there is no reference to it in the above verse.

Fourth verse in the above picture, is also another version of punarnAvAdi kwAth, for swollen bodies, limbs and peripheries. First I shall quote the verse:

punarnavA dAru niSA sunThI , harItakI,
guDUcI, chitrakO, bhArngI, dEvadAru ca taistrutaha
pANi pAdOdara mukha prAptam,
SOpham vinASayEt.

English gist: punarnava =Boerhaavia diffusa,
deodar = Cedrus deodara,
nISA= haridra, turmeric, Cedrus deodara
sunThi, sonThi = ginger + calcium hydroxide dried in sun
harItaki = pathya explained above i.e. Terminalia Chebula, Telugu: karakkAya
guDUci= Tinospora cordifolia, also called giloy
citrak= Plumbago zeylanica, Telugu: citra mUlamu, pedda mulaka
bhArngi, also bhArangi: Clerodendron serratum Moon Pennel, Telugu: ganTu bhArangi

Decoction of an admixture of all these herbs, when taken in, can eradicate swellings in hands, legs, belly, face (etc.)

Free download of this 14th C. medical Treatise, published in 1945 by Vavilla Ramaswami Sastrulu & Sons, Chennai<, from Archive.org

Click here to go to https://archive.org/details/SarngadharaSamhita.

Note: In Telugu, we have two words: 1. sArangadhara. = Person holding a sAranga bird on his head/ shoulders / palm etc. According to Telugu historical folklore, sArangadhara was a Vengi Chalukya Prince of 11th Century CE. His Step mother new Queen sought sexual favors from him, which he refused, as she is mother, being his Father King's wife. New Queen complained to her Husband i.e. Sarangadhara's father that the Prince was seeking sexual favors from her. King without proper inquiries, ordered Sarangadhara to be made blind. The Tragic Saga of Sarangadhara arouses sentiments of compassion. Finally truth comes out. It is a different thing. In 1957, a memorable Telugu film was made with NTR, Bhanumati and SVR.

This Sarangadhara is not to be confused with medical Writer 'SArngadhara'.

2. Sarngadhara= sArnga means a lotus. sArngdhara = A person holding a Lotus flower. Say, Lord Vishnu, Gautama Buddha.

I am trying to provide a link to an English version of SArngadhara Samhita.

Another weakness of Ayurvedic Asavas and arishTAs

Fortunaely, kwAths do not have a weakness, which Asavas and arishTAs are like to suffer from.

AsavAs are liquids, made by fermenting 'raw' mixtures of herbs, for 40 days (called manDalam period), underground, in a cloth-sealed (called vAsina kaTTu) pot. After 40 days fermentation, the herbs will release some self-generated alcohol, which will also be a part of the medicine.

arishTAs are liquids, made by fermenting 'boiled' mixtures of herbs. Here also minimum period required is 40 days, to get the medicines with self-generated alcohol.

Some profit-minded manufacturers, unable to wait for 40 days, buy alcohol from Distillaries or from Government Warehouses under a quota, and then mix with the Asavas and arishTAs. This crazy speed, traditionalists do not approve. Fortunately, reputed manufacturers do not resort to this hasty misdeed.

KwAths are not fermented. They are just boiled decoctions. Hence, there is no problem of mix up of Commercial Alcohol.

Two questions come to my (ybrao-a-donkey's) mind:

1 Is fermentation underground, really necessary? What are the benefits of self-generated alcohol? How, Asavas and arishTas can be different from low alcohol beers? 2. How kwaths (decoctions) can be more effective than chUrNas (powders)?

Homoeopathy's main shortcomings

Shocking Revelation is: Homoeo medicines may not actually contain the substances which their labels mention. This is owing to excessive dilution which takes place with alcohol / milk-sugar, if the medicines are manufactured as per the principles and directions prescribed by its Inventor Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. . I have dealt with this lengthy explanation at my blog post No. 078 here: Click here to go to post No. 078 http://problemsoftelugus.blogspot.com/search/label/078. Besides, I get an impression on reading his Materia Medica Pura 1827 page 48, that he might have had irrational or odd beliefs. After all, I am ybrao-a-donkey. I shall quote it:

Materia Medica Pura (1827) p46 ....... we must act with moderation in order to avoid increasing the powers of the medicines to an undue extent by such trituration. A drop of Drosera in the 30th dilution succussed with 20 stokes of the arm at each dilution, given as a dose to a child suffering from whooping-cough, endangers life, whereas, if the dilution phials are succussed only twice, a globule the size of a poppy seed moistened with the last dilution cures it readily.

Why do you quote this now?

Ans: I have come across a very learned friend of mine, who went to ____ (A 150,000 population Town in Andhra Pradesh, East Godavari District) to get homoeopathically treated for his CKD, spending some amount, undergoing lot of hardships in travel in summer. He has been trying Allopathic, Homoeopathic, Ayurvedic, Acupuncture, systems, with things worsening month by month. These hardships could partly have been ameliorated if Homoeo and Acupuncture were removed from the list.

This is a 1000 page subject. More to write.

Change of Diet from Acidic to Alkaline