Preventive Care
Disease:
Disease is also known by other names viz malady, sickness, distemper, suffering, affliction, ailment, distress of mind, chronic disease and dreadful illness.
The Characteristics of Disease:
The enjoyment of life is associated with pleasure. Disease is opposed to this sense of pleasure.
Diseases are of two kinds:
- Pertaining to the body and diseases
- Pertaining to the mind according to the variations of the three humors.
Causes For Disease :
Excepting the diseases caused by our previous births, the diseases caused by our present birth are due to our food habits and actions. One should avoid anger, very hard work, wearing wet dress, Sexual contact with a person afflicted with diseases, speaking loud, talking too-much, over eating and eating with aversion. Instead one should eat the right quantum, and right quality of food at the appropriate time. One should do exercises, should have ambitions and observe fasting – with one time meals. It is the responsibility of a physician to find the cause and to cure the disease.
Rules for Healthy Living:
To be free from diseases and for a healthy living one should consume boiled water, diluted butter milk and melted ghee. Over indulgence in sex should also be avoided. One who observes the following guidelines lives a better, prosperous and healthy long life. If so, the Lord of Death will never approach and will keep away from him. Drinking Cow’s milk; bathing in hot water following oleation; keeping the left hand as pillow while sleeping are good. One should have a short walk after a meal.
To be avoided :
Sleep during day time; should not indulge in sexual action immediately after the intake of food, frequent sexual indulgence, sexual contact with an elderly woman; One should stay away from women during their menstrual period. exposure to sun’s rays in the early morning, controlling defecation and micturation; vegetables that cause constipation and piles; sour curd; food prepared in the previous day even if it is an Ambrosia and eating without proper appetite, eating three times a day, and drinking of water during eating are to be avoided. Tubers except elephant foot yam and early ripened plaintain, dust and pollution of goat,donkey and broom. are to be avoided. The fragrance of flowers should not be smelt at midnight. Consumption of food should be avoided at dust. One should not stay below the lamp posts or trees at night.
To be followed
Emetic treatment should be done once in six months; purgatives once in four months; nasal application should be done once in 6 weeks (Nasiyam) and shaving the face once in a week; oil bath should be taken twice a week; kanmai be applied to the eyes once in three days.
One should respect God, ancestors and teachers and should also respect the Cows.
The things one can take after each dose of medication
Betel and areca nuts or flakes, Sangu chunnambu, Siru nagappoo – the flower of a herbal tree, grapes, the stem of betel leaves, honey, cloves, parched or fried paddy of one year old, Borneo camphor etc. These will not decrease the strength and power of the medicine: but will augment the effectivepess of the medicine Visemen prefer only such things to get rid of the unsavoury and unpalatable smell and taste of the medicine taken. So it is better if we offer one of the above things after medicine for better results.
In General
Pathartha Guna Chinthamani also mentions the type of containers or vessels that should be used for preserving and feeding the patients according to their afflictions by the three humors of the body.
For Vatha patients: bell metal utensils are more suitable.
For Pitha patients: golden vessels are effective.
For Kapha patients: copper bowls.
If we do not have such expensive metal dishes it is extremely good to use mud pots. For all the diseases of the three humors it is better if we use only mud pots. It is also emphasized in another verse that silver vessels are very good to preserve. Golden containers and dishes are extremely effective to resume the patient’s normal health. But mud pots are better than any other costly containers. Even bell metal utensils are only mediocre in bringing about the desired result.
Those who follow the above rules strictly need not be afraid of Diseases.
