Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c12.53

c12.53

§ 59. Chlorosis and Jaundice :— By the name pāṇḍu, pāṇḍuroga, pāṇḍuāmaya are understood various disease-varieties of the skin-colour especially frequent in India. The Vedic hariman is perhaps not exclusively related to jaundice. According to Su there are four kinds of pāṇḍuroga which are based on doṣas. Other authors mention a fifth kind that arises from eating earth. Food that is sour, salt, too hot, unsuitable to each other or useless, sleeping by day, overexertion, sexual extravagance, suppression of natural excretions, excitation of mind by anxiety, fear and other injuries disturb the doṣas, particularly the pitta and cause various colourings of the skin : pale, yellow, greenish; yet the paleness prevails. The patient is poor in fat and blood, weak, his senses are loosened, the limbs are exhausted, the eyelids are swollen, there is exhaustion, irritability, he frequently spits out, speaks little, has no appetite, avoids cold, his hair fall down, the digestion is disturbed, has fever, breathes heavily, has whistling in the ears and dizziness. The disease is introduced by roughness and springing up of the skin, palpitation of the heart, loss of appetite, tendency for spitting and for eating earth, yellow colour of urine and of faeces, ceasing of sweat-secretion, weak digestion, exhaustion, fatigue etc. Special symptoms in vāta are : the skin, eyes, veins, nails, faeces and urine are black, rough or brown, there is pain, pricking and trembling of limbs etc. In pitta : the eyes, nails etc. are yellow, there is heat, thirst, fever, diarrhoea, sweat, bad smell, bitter taste etc. This is jaundice according to Dutt.¹ In kapha : the skin, eyes, veins etc. are white, there is fatigue, heaviness, hoarseness, cough, flow of phlegm, goose-skin, difficult breathing, vomiting etc.