The Indian medicine articles published by Webmedcentral http://www.webmedcentral.com 2013-05-23T01:44:08+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ http://www.webmedcentral.com/images/Header_Logo.gif text/html 2012-10-05T17:38:02+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ Dr. Mubarak Basha http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/3746 Siddha, the age old medical science has medicines prepared out of living things. Among them milk and milk products are distinguished one, which plays a role in pharmaceutical formulations and itself as a medicine .There are many varieties of milk from  mammals including species have been described for alleviating diseases and disorders through ratio of dilution and choosing the vessels for boiling etc. The characteristics of certain mammal’s milk like cow, goat, donkey, camel and buffalo were analyzed with special reference to Siddha literatures and evidence based scientific data. text/html 2012-02-03T15:57:12+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ Dr. Natarajan Shanmugasundaram http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/2968 Most patients who present with neck pain have “non-specific (simple) neck pain,” where symptoms have a postural or mechanical basis. Aetiological factors are poorly understood [1] and are usually multifactorial, including poor posture, anxiety, depression, neck strain, and sporting or occupational activities.[2] Neck pain after whiplash injury also fits into this category, provided no bony injury or neurological deficit is present.[3] When mechanical factors are prominent, the condition is often referred to as “cervical spondylosis,” although the term is often applied to all non-specific neck pain. Mechanical and degenerative factors are more likely to be present in chronic neck pain.In cervical spondylosis, degenerative changes start in the intervertebral discs with osteophyte formation and involvement of adjacent soft tissue structures. Many people over 30 show similar abnormalities on plain radiographs of the cervical spine, however, so the boundary between normal ageing and disease is difficult to define.[4] Even severe degenerative changes are often asymptomatic, but can lead to neck pain, stiffness, or neurological complications.About two thirds of the population have neck pain at some time in their lives, [5,6] and prevalence is highest in middle age. After back pain, neck pain is the most frequent musculoskeletal cause of consultation in primary care worldwideCervical spondylosis is usually diagnosed on clinical grounds alone Symptoms are Cervical pain aggravated by movement, Referred pain (occiput, between the shoulder blades, upper limbs), Retro-orbital or temporal pain (from C1 to C2), Cervical stiffness-reversible or irreversible, Vague numbness, tingling, or weakness in upper limbs, Dizziness or vertigo, Poor balance, rarely, syncope, triggers migraine, “pseudo-angina” [15]. The Signs are Poorly localised tenderness, Limited range of movement (forward flexion, backward extension, lateral flexion, and rotation to both sides), Minor neurological changes like inverted supinator jerks (unless complicated by myelopathy or radiculopathy) Although pain is predominantly in the cervical region, it can be referred to a wide area, and is characteristically exacerbated by neck movement. Neurological change should always be sought in the upper and lower limbs, but objective changes occur only when spondylosis is complicated by myelopathy or radiculopathy, or when unrelated causes like disc prolapse, thoracic outlet obstruction, brachial plexus disease, malignancy, or primary neurological disease are present.Currently, a balanced view of the management of neck pain cannot be given by discussing evidence based treatments only. Stress management and postural advice on daily activities, work, and hobbies may be useful in some patients. Patients should be advised to use only one pillow at night. When pain is severe, analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents are widely used, despite the lack of evidence that they work. Low dose tricyclic antidepressants, like amitriptyline 10-30 mg per night, might be more effective. Yoga, pilates, and the Alexander technique all improve neck posture, but their value in treating neck pain is uncertain.Acute neck pain not due to whiplash injury and found limited evidence of benefit for manipulation or mobilisation therapy.[3,4] No evidence exists for the efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents or analgesics. The evidence that muscle relaxants relieve pain more than placebo is weak, and the incidence of side effects like drowsiness is high. Studies of the early treatment of whiplash provide moderate evidence that early mobilisation physiotherapy[17-20] and advice to “act as usual”[21] are more effective than immobilisation and less active treatments in speeding up recovery and reducing chronic disability. Less evidence exists for the benefit of home exercise regimens,[22] pulsed electromagnetic field therapy,[23] and multimodal therapy.Randomised controlled trials identified by systematic reviews[5-8] provide moderate evidence that various exercise regimens-using proprioceptive, strengthening, endurance, or coordination exercises-are more effective than usual care (analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or muscle relaxants)[9,25] or stress management,[10,11] although not all studies have found exercise beneficial.[12] One randomised controlled trial found exercise plus infrared heat no more effective than transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation plus heat at relieving pain at six weeks and six months, although both were better than heat alone.[26]Randomised controlled trials included in systematic reviews of manual treatments (mobilisation physiotherapy or manipulation)[1, 4, 5 ,13-16] provide limited evidence that mobilisation physiotherapy[17 18] and manipulation[17] are more effective for chronic neck pain than less active treatments (drug treatment, education, counseling). However, manipulation has occasionally been associated with serious neurological complications (around 5-10 per 10 million manipulations).[27]Mobilisation, manipulation, and exercise seem to be equally effective.[19,20,28] A study comparing combined exercise and manipulation with either modality alone found the combination to be more effective at three months,[21] but no difference was seen compared with exercise alone at one and two years.[22] However, another pragmatic study found no advantage at six weeks or six months of adding manual therapy (63% of patients had mobilisation physiotherapy) or heat (shortwave diathermy) to exercise and advice.[23]Systematic reviews of weak randomised controlled trials provided no conclusive evidence about the effectiveness of acupuncture[24] or traction[25] compared with a range of other treatments in patients with chronic neck pain. The addition of psychotherapy techniques like cognitive behavioural therapy also added little to physical or mechanical treatment alone.[26].Cegana vatham is equated with Cervical Spondylosis in Siddha. The signs and symptoms of "CeganaVatham" is described in the texts of "Yugi vaidhya sindhamani" and "Pararaja sekaram". In "Yugi vaidhya sindhamani" the disease is described with the following symptoms Pain below neck to lowback, Pain both upper limbs, Weight feeling over the body, Depression and giddiness, Burning in the both eyes, Constipation and Pain felt like scorpion bite over body. In "Para raja sekaram" the disease is described with the following symptoms Pain below neck to lowback, Severe pain felt in both arms and Numbness with tingling in the upper limbsSiddha system of medicine emphazise different modalities of treatments among them drugless therapy is considered to be supreme. Varmam therapy is a non invasive procedure especially treating musculo skeletal disorders and neurological disorders.Varma therapy refers to the treatment of injured energy centres of the body which could be located in muscles, bones, nerves, joints or veins. It belongs to varmakkalai which consists in two arts (kalai) opposed by essence: medical art (varmam) for curing injuries, and martial art. The treatment consists in locating injured point(s), pressing and massaging it (them) with an intensity which depends on injury and energy centres.The failure of standard treatment for the cervical spondylosis in turns search for a good treatment modalities in traditional system of medicine. It is need of the hour to establish the non invasive Varmam prodcedure for the treatment of cervical spondylosis text/html 2012-02-16T13:02:42+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ Dr. Muthiah Kannan http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/3031 Urolithiasis is a significant source of morbidity, affecting all geographical, cultural, and racial groups, The lifetime risk is about 10 – 15% in the developed world, the increased risk of dehydration in hot climates, coupled with a diet that is 50% lower in calcium and 50% higher in oxalates. Although one might expect more calcium oxalate stones, uric acid stones are actually more common the annual incidence of kidney stones is roughly 0.5%. The prevalence (frequency in the population) of urolithiasis has increased from 3.2% to 5.2% . The total cost for treating urolithiasis was US$2 billion in 2003. Eighty percent (80%) of those with kidney stones are men, Recurrence rates are estimated at 50% over a 10 year period and 75% over 20 years,[20] with some people experiencing ten or more episodes over the course of a lifetime.most stones in women are due to either metabolic defects (such as cystinuria) or infection. The existence of kidney stones was first recorded thousands of years ago, and lithotomy for the removal of stones is one of the earliest known surgical procedures. The Siddha System of medicine have the potency to treat the urolithiasis well effectively without any surgical procedures. text/html 2012-02-24T07:01:03+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ Ms. Sindhu Joseph http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/3080 The concept of medical tourism is almost as old as medicine itself. Kerala has emerged as hub for state-of-the-art Ayurvedic healing. Ayurveda, the Indian system of medicine, is deep- rooted in Kerala from time immemorial. This is an outcome of a study under which the investigator gathered data by visiting Ayurvedic hospitals, patients, healthcare professionals, etc. This study presents the ground realities of medical tourism in Kerala apart from the perceived aspect. This study envisages evaluating the facilities and services provided by the hospitals for medical tourism in Kerala thus trying to foresee the future scenario of medical tourism in Kerala. In this paper, the expectations of  medical tourists and the experience they had is analyzed for giving a clear picture about the success level of  medical tourism in Kerala as of now and that will give the pitfalls in the areas concerned as well.Key words: Medical tourism, Realm, Bootstrap, IFC,  Sustainability, Healthcare. text/html 2012-03-20T12:36:51+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ Dr. Muthiah Kannan http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/3172 Adolescence in India goes hand in hand with iron-deficiency anemia, medically known as IDA (Iron deficiency Anemia), says the latest NFHS report. While 56 per cent of adolescent girls are anemic, boys too are falling prey to the disease. Around 30 per cent of adolescent boys are suffering from anemia, the report states. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) conducted in 2005-06, presents the statistics that mark a growth in cases pertaining to anemia. Most of the anemic patients, especially women, suffer from mild to severe deficiency of iron. The hemoglobin count in most of the adolescent girls in India is less than the standard 12 g/deciliter, the standard accepted worldwide. In spite of the economic growth still a good number of populations become anemic not only due to mal nutrition but also due to transformation from healthy foods to junk foods. History tracks behind anemia that the disease is named as PANDU as it affected the Pandu Maharaja, the father of Panja Pandavas. The yester generation has dictated the treatment guide lines as health foods by adding a lot of Greens, Palm jaggery, Conception of fruits and so on. Siddha system which considers food as a medicine has also given a proper treatment guide lines for anemia. This paper reviews the classification of anemia and the primary care to treat anemia. text/html 2012-09-15T20:34:54+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ Dr. Natarajan Shanmugasundaram http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/2906 Signs and Symptoms: It is a condition dealing with the involvement of upper back which is identical to the cervical spine comprising the symptoms of pain over the nape of the neck, radiating pain in the upper limbs, feeling of heaviness, giddiness, burning sensation of eyes and constipation. Etiology : Excessive consumption of bitter, astringent, pungent foods. Drinking polluted water. Changing sleep rhythm. Excessive starvation. Lifting heavy objects. Excessive consumption of tubers, fruits, curd etc.. Pathology: The etiological agents causes vitiation of vayu, akayam, man and thee affects the 3 uyir tathu. Simultaneously udal tathu get deranged. Vai: Derangement of viyanan, there is a pain in cervical and dorsal spine. Pain along upper limb like scorbion bite and heaviness. Abanan derangement causes constipation.Tevatattan derangement causes mental depression. Azhal: Derangement of catakam causes giddiness. Aiyam: Derangement of tarpakam causes burning sensation of eyes. In udal tathu, caram,cenneer, oo?,kozhuppu,e?pu are affected. The whole events contributes the clinical symptoms . text/html 2012-09-21T18:10:22+01:00 http://www.webmedcentral.com/ Dr. Natarajan Shanmugasundaram http://www.webmedcentral.com/article_view/3717 Signs and Symptoms: It is a condition dealing with the involvement of upper back which is identical to the cervical spine comprising the symptoms of pain over the nape of the neck, radiating pain in the upper limbs, feeling of heaviness, giddiness, burning sensation of eyes and constipation. Etiology : Excessive consumption of bitter, astringent, pungent foods. Drinking polluted water. Changing sleep rhythm. Excessive starvation. Lifting heavy objects. Excessive consumption of tubers, fruits, curd etc.. Pathology: The etiological agents causes vitiation of vayu, akayam, man and thee affects the 3 uyir tathu. Simultaneously udal tathu get deranged. Vai: Derangement of viyanan, there is a pain in cervical and dorsal spine. Pain along upper limb like scorbion bite and heaviness. Abanan derangement causes constipation.Tevatattan derangement causes mental depression. Azhal: Derangement of catakam causes giddiness. Aiyam: Derangement of tarpakam causes burning sensation of eyes. In udal tathu, caram,cenneer, oo?,kozhuppu,e?pu are affected. The whole events contributes the clinical symptoms .