Indian Medicine (Medicin), translated by C. G. Kashikar c15.11

c15.11

§ 93. Epilepsy :—*Apasmāra* arises in the canals of the heart, particularly by grief, anger, greed, fear, joy and other mental excitations and is known by the throbbing of the eye-brows, twisting of the eyes, palpitation, deafness, discharge of saliva and phlegm from the mouth and nose, numbness, swooning, giddiness, sweat, flatulence, weakness and other signs. Four kinds are distinguished according to the dosas with symptoms : frequent change between senselessness and sudden return of consciousness, or prolonged attack by long intervals, frequent depression, foam from the mouth, delirium, groaning, trembling, biting the teeth, crookedness of the fingers, thirst, cold feeling, shuddering, to the patient everything appears black, white, or fiery etc. Old epilepsy is incurable, as well as *apasmāra* from tridosas, or if the patient frequently tugs with the limbs, becomes thin, the eye-brows are pulled upwards and the eyes roll. The attacks come after a pause of 10 or 12 days or a month or even oftener. For cure different medicines should be given, particularly decoctions in ghee or oil, enemeta, emetic and purgative, the bile of a dog as an ointment or smearing substance, nasal remedy, blood-letting; the patient should be brought to senses by pungent substances, he should be branded etc. The treatment should be like that for madness. When the attack is over, one should not rebuke the patient for what he had done during the same, but should attempt to cheer his soul (Car 2.8; 6.10; Su 6.61; AS 6.10; AHr 6.7; MN 169 f.; Vang 337 ff.; Bhāv 2.2; Vr 21).