Tuberculosis or Consumption:

Cause: Distress of the three temperamental factors causing the circulation to be impaired and the body elements (blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow, and semen) to go un-replenished. When sexual incontinence is added to these factors, a serious deficiency arises bringing on a quick destruction of the lungs. Modern medicine defines this tuberculosis as an infective granulomata, induced by the invasion of the bacillus tuberculosis. In 1890 a German doctor, Koch, discovered the tubercular bacillus, injected it into the subcutaneous tissues of people and found them to become affected with tuberculosis. The body may be affected in any of its parts, but lungs are especially vulnerable. When the intestines are infected, it is called intestinal tuberculosis.

Symptoms : Cold, cough, hoarseness, heavy head, foul smelling mucus from nose, contraction of lungs, headache, fever, heavy feeling in shoulders, blood vomiting, abnormal bowel motions. The hoarseness and the pain and contraction in shoulders are due to rheumatism. The uneasiness, diarrhea, and blood vomiting are due to biliousness. Headache, cough, and cold are caused by excess phlegm. In Ayurveda this is called jaksha, kshay, and shosh respectively, corresponding to the modern names of tuberculosis, phthisis, and pulmonary consumption. Tuberculosis or consumption have been classified into seven kinds according to the cause :-

1) Byabaishosh or consumption due to sexual incontinence, 2) Shokajashosh or consumption due to grief, wherein paleness and emaciation are prominent features, 3) Jarashoh or consumption due to sterility, usually caused by old age and symptomized by shivering, bad taste, hoarseness, dry cough, heaviness of body, and a harsh, restless mind, 4) Adhashosh or consumption due to long travelling wherein the symptoms are tiredness, gracelessness, dryness of face and throat, 5) Byayamashosh or consumption due to heavy exercise and exertion whose symptoms resemble those of adhashosh and urakshata and whose location is in the lungs, 6) Raktashosh or consumption due to discharge of blood, usually on battlefield. But this kind of consumption can also come from severe acne, painful dysmenorrhea, starvation, etc., and 7) Urakshata or consumption due to cavity in the lungs, signalized by expectoration of foul-smelling, rotten, yellow, blood-mixed phlegm. When the replenishment of the body elements is arrested, a min has tuberculosis or consumption. The blood, flesh, fat, bone, marrow, and semen naturally dry up. Excessive cohabitation then further weakens the body, and tuberculosis or consumption results.

Treatment : Chyabanpras is the best medicine, especially in acute cases. Where there is constipation, use Mahadraksharista along with Chyabanpras. To check fever, give Kanaksundar Ras, Mahamriganka Ras, Kanchanavra Ras, etc. with powder of long pepper and honey. For high temperature give Jwarmatanga Kesari, Brihat Jwarchuramani, Nay padi Jwarchuramani, etc. In chronic cases and in low temperature use Brihat Sarbajwarahara Lauha (Sattur Bhabna ), or Sree Joymangal Ras. When the disease has been arrested, do not discontinue fever medicines even though there may seem to be no fever. Blood vomiting is one of the worst features of this disease, though it is not always present. Distressed and excessive bile causes this condition. Sometimes phlegm comes out with the blood cough, and the patient grows very weak. Then Eladi Gurika, Basabaleha, Brihat Basabaleha, and Basakusmanda Khanda are the best medicines. The last-mentioned medicine is especially good in cases of low fever and great bleeding. In high fever this medicine should not be used. The tuberculosis patient suffers from breathing difficulty at the time of coughing. When this difficulty is very great, give Swashara Jog or Swaskas Chintamani with honey and ground beleric myrobalan. As the cause of the difficulty is cough, it will disappear when Basabaleha, Brihat Basabaleha, the cough is gone. Sringarabhra, Sarbabhaum Ras are excellent medicines for cough and blood vomiting. Use the first two when there is much blood with the cough, and the last two with powder of long pepper, betel leaves, and honey when there is little blood in the cough. Where the cough is severe, use Swashara Jog.

Tuberculosis-patients incline to sexual passion, indulgence of which aggravates the disease. To check the passion, give Brihat Bangeswar with powder of fig and honey. To prevent involuntary discharges of semen and to thicken it, give Basanta Kusumakar Ras with cubeb powder and honey. If the patient is suffering from long-standing fever, his digestive power lessens and he becomes emaciated. Every food tastes bad and he feels no hunger. Diarrhea then appears. Whether there is only diarrhea or diarrhea with blood or with mucus in stools of varying colors or watery diarrhea, use Maharaj Nripatiballav with fried cumin powder and honey. Where the case is turning fatal, Panchamrita Parpati is to be taken. Where there is dropsy, no water or salt should be taken with medicine. Give Sothkalanal Ras with juice of hygrophilla spinosa leaves and honey. Where the patient has or has had symptoms of byabaishosh (consumption due to seminal discharges), give Brihat Chhagaladya Ghrita and Amritapras Ghrita. Symptoms of consumption are seem to a greater or less extent almost everywhere nowadays. Unless good mind and health are maintained, two or three of the symptoms are likely to appear. There are brain complaints, pains in the loins, dullness of body, laziness, restlessness of mind, forgetfulness, indigestion, constipation, sleeplessness, no zeal for work, no concentration, general weakness, hardness of hearing, dim vision, dim intellect, etc. These are everyday symptoms of tuberculosis. When such are present, use Brihat Chhagaladya Ghrita or Brihat Aswagandha Ghrita. Students do not have pure and nutritious foods and live under a strain. They should have these medicinal foods. They may continue them the year-round every morning. Where there is loss of appetite, use Bhaskar Lavan for one or two weeks. When appetite has been restored, add pure ghee to the diet.

Diet: In this disease nutritious food is essential. Rice (old stock ), wheat, barley, mugh and gram lentil soup, goat meat, venison soup, goat milk, goat butter and ghee, cow and buffalo ghee, chalta, moringa stick, plantain flower, and rock-salt are good foods. Where there is cough, breathing difficulty, and fever, give ripe mango, jackfruit, raisins, dates, water chestnuts, cocoanut, etc., according as the patient’s condition allows. Cohabitation is prohibited. Touching and seeing the object of passion should be prevented. The room must be airy bright. Good air is the best medicine. Dry the patient’s bedding daily in the sun.