Thursday, March 27, 2008

Ayurvedic Concept and Jaundice

Ayurveda describes kaamala or Jaundice as one of the major diseases of yakrit (liver). The obstructive and infective jaundice are described in ayurvedic classical texts.

Pathogenesis

When a person indulges on diet which increases pitta( one among the three somatic humors), like excessive alcohol intake, heavy, oily, and spicy food, pitta becomes aggravated and results in disease of blood, muscle tissue, biliary system and liver. These then manifest as kaamala or jaundice. It is also mentioned in the texts that if a person is anaemic he is more prone to kaamala.

Symptoms

Yellowish discolouration of the eyes, nails, skin, and oral cavity, yellowish/reddish discolouration of faeces and urine, generalized weakness, burning sensation,loss of appetite and taste, vague body pains and weakness in all sensory organs and emaciation.

There are different types of Kaamala described in Ayurveda

Shakasritha: There is only mild aggravation of pitta and vata in this type of Kaamala ( acute jaundice) and this can be cured relatively easily.

Kumbha Kaamala: If not treated Kaamala ( acute jaundice) in due course turns into Kumbha Kaamala and becomes difficult to treat.

Panaki: This is considered to be late/advanced stage of Kaamala.

Haleemaka: This is an advanced stage of pandu roga (anemia). This occurs when both vata and pitta are vitiated. The disease is manifested with greenish-yellow discolouration, weakness, lethargy, loss of appetite, fever, body ache, burning sensation, loss of taste and dizziness.

Tastelessness, thirst, vomiting, fever, headache, loss of appetite, lethargy, pain in chest are also often referred to as associated ailments of Kaamala.

Jaundice is Yellowish

Not all that is yellow is good for the eyesight. Not all that seemed to be pale and yellow is anemia. So what it could be? Jaundice is also yellowish.

What is jaundice?

Jaundice is characterized by yellowing of the skin and the sclera or whites of the eyes. It is not a disease but only a sign to many other different diseases. Jaundice is caused by the high level of chemical bilirubin in the blood. Depending on the level of the chemical, the yellow pigmentation of the skin and the sclera may vary. When it is too high, it could appear as brown and not yellow.

Causes of Jaundice

The high level of bilirubin is the main cause of jaundice. However, it is better that we are able to understand how this chemical component of the blood is being released. The red blood cells are the ones responsible with the bilirubin. When these cells get old, they are naturally destroyed. Since the blood cells are the carriers of iron-content called hemoglobin that carries oxygen in the blood, this chemical is released from the destroyed cells. When the iron is removed, the remaining chemical content is called bilirubin.

Moreover, the liver has also a very important function in developing jaundice. The liver is tasked to remove waste from the body specifically in the blood stream. As discussed above, bilirubin is a waste product of destroyed red blood cells. The liver should be removing the bilirubin from the blood and excrete it through the feces.

Jaundice occurs when there is too many red blood cells destroyed and its waste product is too much for the liver to remove. Also, when the liver malfunctions and is not fit to remove the bilirubin in the blood, thus it accumulates in the blood. Lastly, blockage in the bile ducts that cause the flow of the bile and bilirubin to decrease.

Jaundice Causing Problems

Jaundice is only a symptom to more serious ailments. Jaundice or cholestasis causes other problems other than the yellowing of the skin and the sclera of the eye. The stool could also become pale in color when bilirubin is absent or become too brownish because of too much bilirubin. The urine is also affected as its color could also become dark yellow or brownish.

Jaundice , other than the coloring, is frequently associated with itching called pruritus. This condition can sometimes become severe that the patient could not scratch their skin. Others could have trouble sleeping. When the jaundice is caused by liver disease, the patient could experience fatigue, swelling of ankles, muscle wasting, fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity, bleeding in to intestine and worse, coma. When the blockage of the bile ducts is causing the jaundice, it can be concluded that there is not bile entering the intestine. Bile is necessary in the digestion of fat and releasing vitamins within the small intestines.

Other Diseases and Factors that Cause Jaundice

There are many drugs that can cause jaundice. Some drugs could leave the liver an inflammation or hepatitis almost similar to hepatitis caused by virus. Still other drugs could affect the bile ducts and also leave them inflamed. The only treatment to this kind of condition is to discontinue usage of such drugs. However, it would still take a few weeks before the bilirubin is back to its normal level.

Another factor is genetic disorders. One of these genetic disorders is the defect in bilirubin conjugation in the liver caused by the reduction of the enzyme for conjugating bilirubin and glucoronic. This condition is referred to as Gilbert's syndrome.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Symptoms And Factors For Jaundice Causes

It doesn't matter if it's a disease of the liver of a gall bladder affection, jaundice is the main symptom. If one notices that his skin color becomes jaundiced he can almost be sure he has an issue with his gall bladder or liver. The eyes also get an yellow color, instead of the characteristic white. The jaundice appears because the old blood isn't filtered out correctly. If the jaundice appears with flu like symptoms together then a medical control is required because it may be a result of hepatitis or serious damage taken by the gall bladder.

In the Asian medicine Jaundice is splitted in two types, the Yin Jaundice and the Yang Jaundice. The first one is mainly characterized by the whole body being colored in a vivid yellow, thirst, coloring of the tongue (yellow). The second, the Yin jaundice turns the face, the eyes, and the skin slightly grey. Yin jaundice produces low fever, nausea, no appetite and palpitations.

If you constantly have a bad appetite then you should consider having some medical test because this is one of the symptoms of liver disease. This will lead to decreasing of body weight and a not balanced metabolism that will lead to an unusual, unhealthy quantity of carbohydrates and fat in the blood. Another result of this symptom is anemia. This is the most severe consequence of a bad appetite. If a person developed anemia it is very possible that he will develop a disease in the liver cells (hepatocytes). Vomiting and nausea will appear, and in the vomit there are big chances that blood will be found. Ulcers have an increased risk rate if anemia is left untreated.

If you notice that your stool is too light colored then this may happen because the quantity of bile produced is too small. If this happens constantly then you can be sure that you have some liver or gall bladder issues. Bile isn't secreted in the right amounts or it won't reach the intestines because of the stones that may block the way.

Another common symptom is polyuria, also known as excessive urinating. This symptom appears at more than just this disease. A consequence of polyuria is polydypsia that is excessive thirst.

Other symptoms that may appear are strokes, depressions, spasms, allergies, seizures, colored yes (red, yellow) and mood swings (irritability.)

Factors For The Cause Of Jaundice

Jaundice is Yellowish

Not all that is yellow is good for the eyesight. Not all that seemed to be pale and yellow is anemia. So what it could be? Jaundice is also yellowish.

What is jaundice?

Jaundice is characterized by yellowing of the skin and the sclera or whites of the eyes. It is not a disease but only a sign to many other different diseases. Jaundice is caused by the high level of chemical bilirubin in the blood. Depending on the level of the chemical, the yellow pigmentation of the skin and the sclera may vary. When it is too high, it could appear as brown and not yellow.

Causes of Jaundice

The high level of bilirubin is the main cause of jaundice. However, it is better that we are able to understand how this chemical component of the blood is being released. The red blood cells are the ones responsible with the bilirubin. When these cells get old, they are naturally destroyed. Since the blood cells are the carriers of iron-content called hemoglobin that carries oxygen in the blood, this chemical is released from the destroyed cells. When the iron is removed, the remaining chemical content is called bilirubin.

Moreover, the liver has also a very important function in developing jaundice. The liver is tasked to remove waste from the body specifically in the blood stream. As discussed above, bilirubin is a waste product of destroyed red blood cells. The liver should be removing the bilirubin from the blood and excrete it through the feces.

Jaundice occurs when there is too many red blood cells destroyed and its waste product is too much for the liver to remove. Also, when the liver malfunctions and is not fit to remove the bilirubin in the blood, thus it accumulates in the blood. Lastly, blockage in the bile ducts that cause the flow of the bile and bilirubin to decrease.

Jaundice Causing Problems

Jaundice is only a symptom to more serious ailments. Jaundice or cholestasis causes other problems other than the yellowing of the skin and the sclera of the eye. The stool could also become pale in color when bilirubin is absent or become too brownish because of too much bilirubin. The urine is also affected as its color could also become dark yellow or brownish.

Jaundice , other than the coloring, is frequently associated with itching called pruritus. This condition can sometimes become severe that the patient could not scratch their skin. Others could have trouble sleeping. When the jaundice is caused by liver disease, the patient could experience fatigue, swelling of ankles, muscle wasting, fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity, bleeding in to intestine and worse, coma. When the blockage of the bile ducts is causing the jaundice, it can be concluded that there is not bile entering the intestine. Bile is necessary in the digestion of fat and releasing vitamins within the small intestines.

Other Diseases and Factors that Cause Jaundice

There are many drugs that can cause jaundice. Some drugs could leave the liver an inflammation or hepatitis almost similar to hepatitis caused by virus. Still other drugs could affect the bile ducts and also leave them inflamed. The only treatment to this kind of condition is to discontinue usage of such drugs. However, it would still take a few weeks before the bilirubin is back to its normal level.

Another factor is genetic disorders. One of these genetic disorders is the defect in bilirubin conjugation in the liver caused by the reduction of the enzyme for conjugating bilirubin and glucoronic. This condition is referred to as Gilbert's syndrome.