In
Ayurveda Disease is called 'Vyadhi'. It is the state of body and mind
in which they are subjected to discomfort, pain and injury. The fundamental
cause is imbalance of the three doshas - Vata, Pitta and kapha. The
state of balance or equilibrium between these three doshas in the
body is called health and the state of imbalance or disequilibrium
is disease. The imbalance may be due to an increase or decrease in
one, two or all the three doshas.
In
Ayurveda, the diagnosis and treatment of disease is always individual
to each patient. As Ayurveda treats according to the constitution
of an individual, it is known as a highly accurate and personalized
method of analyzing diseases. All diseases are caused by aggravation
of the three doshas i.e. vata, pitta and kapha. This aggravation is
caused by the intake of improper diet and an improper lifestyle.
There
are different stages of diseases and a good knowledge of these stages
are important for the diagnosis of a disease in its early stages.
The five measures which helps to diagnose and treat various diseases
are collectively known as nidanpanchak.
Kriyakala
describes the mode and stages of development of disease. It refers
to the proper diagnosis of stages of disease and adopting preventive
and curative measures of aushadh, ahara and charya (drug, diet and
activities).
There
is a wide range of methods in Ayurveda to assess diseases based on
their constitution and then prescribe the suitable treatment. Doshic
imbalance can be diagnosed by taking the patient's history, performing
the threefold, eightfold or the tenfold examination and assessing
the specific symptoms.
The
threefold examination or trividh pariksha as it is called, consists
of sparshana (palpation method), darshana (inspection), prashna (interrogation),
aptopdesh (authoritative instruction), pratyaksha (direct investigation)
and anuman (investigation by inference).
The
eightfold examination includes the examination of pulse, tongue, voice,
skin, vision, appearance, urine and stools. It gives an idea of the
patient's general condition and the type of illness.
The
tenfold examination consists of the examination of the body constitution,
pathological state, tissue vitality, physical build, body measurement,
adaptability, psychic constitution, digestive capacity, capacity for
exercise and age.
