| |
|
Examination Process
There is an examination process that consists of eight stages. In ayurveda it is known as eight (Asht) fold (Bidha) Examination (Pariksha).
The following provides a clear picture of nature of ailment and patient's general condition and involves the examination of pulse, tongue, voice, skin, eye, general appearance, urine & stool.
Examination of the pulse (nadi pariksha):
The leading clinical skill in ayurvedic diagnosis it can provide unlimited insights into the history of the patient. The ideal time for pulse examination is early morning in empty stomach. But in case of emergency, it can be examined at any time of the day or night. An experienced ayurvedic physician can assess your body’s nature (prakriti), pathological state (vikruti), and imbalances of body type, very subtle observations & even prognosis of disease through the pulse.
Examination of the tongue (jivha pariksha):
Assessed through its doshic state, a vata aggravated tongue is dry, rough & cracked, pitta suffered tongue is red with a burning sensation and kapha influenced it is wet, slimy and coated. Suggesting the state of the digestive system.
Examination of the voice (sabda pariksha):
Healthy and natural when the doshas are in balance, the voice will become heavy when aggravated by kapha, cracked under pitta effect and hoarse & rough when afflicted by vata.
Examination of skin (sparsha pariksha):
Also used for assessing the state of organs and tissue, palpation is an important clinical method for examination of skin. Noted for doshic influences, a vata aggravated skin is course & rough with below normal temperature, a pitta influenced one has quite high temperature and kapha effected it becomes cold & wet.
Examination of eyes (drka pariksha):
Vata domination makes the eyes sunken, dry and reddish brown in colour. On aggravation of pitta, they turn red or yellow and the patient suffers from photophobia and burning sensations. High kapha makes them wet & watery with heaviness in the eyelids.
Examination of general appearance (akriti pariksha):
The doshic influences that reflect on the face of the patient enables physicians to gauge the basic constitution and the nature of the disease.
Examination of urine (mutra pariksha):
Both examination of urine sample and questioning of patient are important for assessing doshic influence. A modification of this is the oil (taila) drop (bindu) test (pariksha) in which the effect of an oil drop on urine sample suggests the curability of disease.
Examination of stool (mala pariksha):
If digestion & absorption of food are poor, the stool carries a foul odor and sinks in water. Vata aggravated, the stool is hard, dry and gray / ash in color. Excess pitta makes it green / yellow in color and liquid in form. And high kapha lines it with mucus.
Examination Process
Now we come to the technical part. To verify, assess and treat a disease, physicians need to perform clinical examinations of patients – wherein textual knowledge (aptopadesa), direct perception (pratyaksha) and inference (anumana) are all very significant components. The assessment of patients can be carried out in the manners mentioned below:
Three (Tri) fold (Bidha) Examination (Pariksha)
Covers a general examination of the patient.
Involves:
Visual observation (Darshan)
Tactile perception (Sparsha)
Questioning (Prashna)
Examination Process
Ten (Dash) fold (Bidha) Examination (Pariksha)
Related to the patient.
Covers body constitution, pathological state, tissue vitality, physical build, body measurement, adaptability, and psychic constitution, capacities for digestion & exercise and age.
Body Constitution (prakriti):
Determined by relative dominance of doshas during fetal development the prakriti can be any of vatika, paittika, kaphaja, vata paittika, vata kaphaja, pitta kaphaja or samdoshaja.
Pathological State (vikruti):
Associated to the biological record of the diseases in its entirety, it helps physicians to consider the signs & symptoms of the disease in order to review the strength of the disease, the causes, the doshas, the affected body elements, body constitution, time and strength of an individual.
Tissue Vitality (sara):
Broadly speaking, there are 7 vital tissues, namely lymph (rasa), blood (rakta), muscle (mamsa), adipose (meda), bone (asthi), bone marrow (majja) and reproductive tissue (sukra).
Lymph in the skin is reviewed by its smoothness, softness, clearness, thinness and whether the skin is covered with short, deep rooted and delicate hair.
Percentage of blood in body is evaluated from the condition of the eyes, mouth, tongue, lips, nails and soles of the feet.
When muscles are in perfect condition, the temples, forehead, nape of the neck, shoulders, belly, arms, chest, joints of the body, jaws and cheeks are covered firmly with the skin.
People with healthy adipose tissue have oily skin and healthy hair, nails, voice and teeth.
The health of bones is determined by pliable but firm forearms, chin, nails, teeth, ankles, knees and other joints of the body.
Healthy bone marrow leads to good complexion and stout, long, round & stable joints.
Those, in whom the semen is perfectly healthy, are strong and cheerful.
Physical Build (samhanana):
A healthy body being well- built with regular bones, sturdy & firm joints and enough flesh & blood body examination is carried out by direct perception.
Body Measurement (pramana):
In Ayurveda, body measurement is given in terms of fingerbreadth and any person in close proximity to the ideal measurements is termed as normal and healthy.
Adaptability (satmya):
Indicating substances intrinsic to the body, it refers to two types of people - those that are strong, adjust easily to difficulties and have excellent digestive capacity and those that are generally weak, intolerant to change and can have only few food options.
Psychic Constitution (satwa):
Refers to the mind, which controls the body in contact with the soul (atma). Depending on degree of mental strength, it is considered to be high, moderate or low. To know more about your body type, click here.
Digestive Capacity (ahara sakti)
This trait has to be judged from the individual’s capacity to ingest and digest food substances.
Capacity for Exercise (vyayama shakti)
Assessed by capacity for hard work, it is low, moderate or high.
Age (vaya)
Generally classified into childhood, middle age and old age, it provides essential clues for the diagnosis & treatment and is a must consideration in clinical examinations.
|
|
|
