INTERMITTENT FEVER:

Cause : When a fever patient thinks himself cured by a temporary remission due to strong drugs and moves about carelessly, eating as usual, he becomes prone to intermittent fever. Relapsing fever indicates intermittent fever. This fever tends to enlarge the spleen and liver.

Symptoms and kinds: Quotidian intermittent fever comes once every 24 hrs., tertian fever comes every alternate day, quartian fever comes every two days, double quotidian comes twice in one day. Where bile is the cause, there is one day of high temperature and one of low. Some types of intermittent fever come back regularly at the same time of day; others are irregular. The daily recurring fevers are called quotidian in Ayurvedic Medicine. They have three stages: cold, hot, and perspiring.  In the cold stage the patient shivers, and sometimes so severely that three and four quilts cannot stop the shivering. In this stage the body aches, the head throbs with pain, there is thirst and whooping cough (sometimes). In the hot stage the patient generally has headache, red face, dry skin, thirst, burning sensation, and breathing difficulty. After some hours perspiration begins, and there is remission.

Treatment: Sarbajwara Bati and Amritarista are excellent medicines for this fever. Sadhana Pachan may be used in place of Amritarista. Both these medicines work on the spleen and liver, purifying the blood. This cures the disease. When either of these medicines is used in conjunction with Makaradhwaja, the results are especially marvellous. If dysentery accompanies the fever, give putpak Bisam Jwarantak Lauha with ground long pepper and honey. In any plethoric condition add only white hog-weed juice and honey to this medicine. When there is cough, use Kafa Chintamani with accompanying ginger juice and honey. Chandanadi Lauha is an excellnt medicine when intermittent fever has these symptoms: 1) the fever comes on slowly and stays for only a short time; 2) slow fever for a couple of days on the occurrence of full moon or dark moon, or slow fever with anaemia; 3) burning sensation and thirst, or burning sensation while passing urine which is of a reddish colour. Accompanying medicines for Chandanadi Lauha in such cases are Oldenlandia Carymbosa Extract and honey; These, however, should not be taken where the temperature is high. When there is no fever in the daytime but only at night, the best medicine is Ahabari Ras. Saptapadi Jwarchuramani and Naypadi Jwarchuramani may also be used for night fever. When intermission of fever comes, Brihat Jwarankus with tulsi or shefali leaf extract and honey is an excellent agent to give the fever a check. Brihat Sarbajwarhara Lauha (Sattar Bhabna ) also cures this fever.

Diet: During fever use light foods, such as, barley, sago, sati. When the fever is cured, give fresh fish soup, bread, boiled rice (old stock ), and milk.