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Ayurveda > Ayurveda Case Notes > Kruchra Mal Chikitsa
By Dr. Satish Kulkarni
Treatment for Constipation
Patrick is facing a
problem of chronic constipation. He
suffered from a stroke which
paralyzed the entire right side of
his body and has been bed ridden
since the past few years. Hence his
rectum has to be cleaned on a daily
basis and this is a difficult and
painful job. He has been given liquid
paraffin, purgative tablets and
suppositories but they have provided
only temporary or no relief.
I suggested ayurvedic
treatment since it provides better
remedies for this problem. Ms. Jason
seemed happy to learn this. She then
requested a home visit. I made a
visit and did a check-up for Mr.
Jason. I noted that several things
contribute to his constipation. His
age, his lifestyle, his diet and the
medicines that he has been taking for
a long time, are all contributing to
his constipation.
Mr. Jason needs
some physical activity. He spends
most of his time sitting or sleeping
in bed. He must overcome this
tendency and start doing some
exercises that he is able to do. If
active exercises are not possible, he
can opt for passive exercises with
the help of family members. He needs
these exercises to initiate a wave of
digestion and pass stools as an end
product of this.
Drinking ample
water and fruit juices will also help
in solving this problem to a certain
extent. But for this to help, he must
drink two to three liters of liquid
per day. In addition to this he needs
an ample amount of fibrous food in
his diet. He also needs plenty of
green leafy vegetables and salads
with cucumber, tomatoes, carrots,
radish, cabbage, cauliflower and all
kinds of seasonal fruits. All this
roughage will help in forming soft
stools and will naturally help in
evacuating the bowel.
As in all gut
problems, fasting is an important
initial remedy. One should fast at
least once a month since this helps
in giving periodical rest to the
tract, thus helping to complete
residual digestion and clean the gut.
This also facilitates smooth passage
of stools and gives a sense of
complete evacuation.
I advised
keeping up with the habit of drinking
warm milk before going to bed and
suggested adding two teaspoonfuls of ghee
(clear butter) to it.
Among the
medicines available for the treatment
of constipation, triphalachurna
{a powder consisting of haritaki (termilania
chebula), bibhitak (terminalia
bellerica) and amalaki
(emblica officinalis)} or gandharvaharitaki{a
powdered form of haritaki (termilania
chebula) prepared in castor oil}are
ideal. Ms. Jason agreed to give one
teaspoonful of triphalachurna
to Mr. Jason every day without fail.
Constipation
can be a result of one or more
factors or even a combination of
factors. It can be a simple complaint
or it can be a result of serious
diseases like colon cancer. One
should follow the medical policy of
ruling out the disease behind
constipation first and then treating
it. Some of the less serious causes
of constipation are agnimandya (impaired
digestive fire), accumulation of ama
(toxic substances generated
during metabolic activities),
sedentary work, inadequate or excess
sleep, increased work load or
frequent change in daily activities
like change in shifts of work,
frequent travel, etc. Waiting for a
couple of days before taking any
medicines, fasting, eating a lot of
fruits and using gentle herbal
laxative medicines instead of
aggressive bowel cleaners can be a
good solution to this problem.
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