Kaasa (cough)
Introduction
The verbal root of word kaasa is 'Kasra - Kushabde' meaning that which
produces abnormal sound. It is called so because of Yathoktagatimatvath
i.e. specific movement & Uraprabruthishanthachha (painful effect on
chest).
Kaasa has the following five types:
- Three coughs caused by the three Doshas (Vata, Pitta & Kapha)
- The fourth type of cough (Kshataj) caused by chest wound
- Fifth type of cough is (Kshayaj) i.e. consumption.
Poorvaroopa (Prodominal Symptoms)
- ShookPurna Galaasyata (throat & mouth as if covered with
thorns).
- Kanthe Kandushcha- i.e. itching in throat.
- Bhojyanam Avarodh- i.e Aruchi (anorexia) or difficulty in intake
of food.
Hetu
- Intake of coarse
- Cold
- Astringent
- Little & deficient food
- Fasting
- Excessive indulgence in sex
- Suppression of urges and exertion
Roopa (clinical features)
- Dry cough
- Intense pain in cardiac region, sides, chest & head
- Hoarseness of voice
- Dryness of chest, throat & mouth
- Horripilation
- Feeling of darkness
- Sound like that of conch or clouds
- Anxious expression
- Debility
- Irritation
- Fainting
Hetu & Roopa of Pittaja Kaasa
- Excessive intake of pungent, hot, burning, sour & alkaline
substances
- Anger
- Heat of fire
- Sun causes
Roopa (clinical features)
- Yellowness of sputum & eyes
- Bitter taste in mouth
- Disorder of voice
- Fuming in chest
- Thirst
- Burning sensation
- Fainting
- Anorexia
- Giddiness
- While coughing the patient constantly sees as if stars &
expectorates phlegm mixed with Pitta.
Hetu & Roopa of Kaphaja Kaasa
- Excessive intake of heavy, slimy, sweet & unctuous foods &
drinks
- Oversleep
- Sedentary habit
Roopa (clinical features)
- Loss of appetite
- Anorexia
- Vomiting
- Coryza
- Excitement
- Heaviness
- Horripilation
- Sweetness in mouth
- Moistening
- Malaise
- On expectoration profuse, sweet, unctuous & viscous phlegm
without pain is coughed out.
Hetu & Roopa of Kshataja Kaasa
- Excessive sexual indulgence
- Weight lifting
- Combat with horses and elephants (i.e. Physical exertion
disproportionate to one's strength) in a person who is already
suffering from Urahkshata (chest wound).
Roopa (clinical features)
- Initially dry cough
- Later on expulsion of sputum with blood
- Intense pain in throat
- Excruciating
- Piercing pain in chest
- Pain in joints
- Fever
- Dyspnoea
- Thirst
- Abnormal voice
- Cooing sound like pigeon during bouts of cough
Hetu & Roopa of Kshayaj Kaasa
- Irregular meals (untimely)
- Intake of incompatible food
- Excessive sexual intercourse
- Suppression of urges in a person already affected with disgust &
anxiety consequent loss of digestive power
Roopa (clinical features)
- Expectoration of sputum, which is fetid, green, red & pus
like.
- While coughing a feeling, as if heart has fallen down from its
normal place feeling hot & cold.
- Inspite of good intake of food the patient is weak &
emaciated.
- Complexion & skin of face is unctuous & clean.
- Eyes are pretty and sole of hands and feet are smooth.
- Envious & disgusting.
- Coryza
- Anorexia
- Hoarseness of voice without an apparent cause.
Treatment
- Treatment of Vatika Kaasa
- In rough (undernourished) patients the Vatika Kaasa with
unctuous applications such as Ghurtas, Enemas, Gruels,
Vegetable, soups, milk, meat soup.
- In case of retention of stool and flatus enemas are
indicated.
- In case of dryness of upper parts administration of Ghruta
before meals and excess of Pitta and Kapha by unctuous purgation
is advised.
- Ghee 640 gm. cooked with 1.2 liter's decoction of each
Kantakari and Guduci alleviates Vatika Kaasa and promotes
digestion.
- Ghee 640 gm. should be cooked in decoction of Dashamula 2.56l
with the paste of Pippali, Pippalimula, Chavya. Chitraka,
Sunthi, Dhanyaka, Pathya, Vacha, Raasna, Madhuyasthi, Yavakshara
and Hingu each 5gm should be taken in the dose of 40gm followed
by gruel scum.
- To alleviate cough, fever, gulma, anorexia, spleen
enlargement, pain in head, heart and sides, jaundice, piles,
vatasthila, urahkhshata (chest wound), phthisis and wasting,
Ghee 640gms should be cooked in four times milk. To the milk add
the paste of Trikatu, Triphala, Draksha, Kashmarya, Parushaka,
two types of Pathya, Devadaru, Riddhi, Atmagupta, Chitraka,
Shati, Vyaghri, Tamalaki, Meda, Kakanasa, Shatavari, Gokhshura
and Vidari each 10 gm. This Ghruta is known as Tryusanadya
Ghruta.
- Treatment of Pittaj Kaasa
- In Paitika cough with profuse phlegm, emesis with ghee or
decoction of Madana, Kashmarya and Madhuka or paste (or powder)
of Madhuyashthi and Madana mixed with the juice of Vidari and
sugarcane is beneficial.
- One should adopt unctuous-cold and rough-cold regimens in
conditions of thin and thick phlegm respectively. The regimens
with edibles, unctuous substances and linctus preparations are
as follows:
- Srngataka, lotus seeds, Nili and Gajapippali.
- Pippali, Musta, Madhuyashthi, Draksha, Murva and Shunthi.
- Parched paddy, Amalaki, Draksha, Vanshlochan, Pippali and
sugar.
- Pippali, Padmaka, Draksha, juice of Bruhati fruits
- Kharjura (dates), Pippali, Vanshalochana and Gokhshura
- These five formulations added with ghee and honey and
used as linctus are beneficial for those suffering from
Paittika cough.
- In case of association of Kapha, Musta and Maricha and in
that of Vata, ghee should be added to the above. Dried grapes
50(in number), Pippali 30(in number) and sugar 40gm all together
mixed with honey should be taken as linctus.
- The linctus prepared of, Rasna, Amalaki fruits and Vibhitaka
added with sugar, honey and ghee alleviates cough, dyspnoea,
hiccup, wasting and heart disease.
- Pippali, Amalaka, Draksha, Lac, parched paddy and sugarcandy
- these should be boiled in milk till it is thickened. When
cooled, Twak, Ela, Trikatu, Mrdwika, Pippalimula, Pushkaramula
parched paddy, Musta, salt honey in one-eight quantity should be
added. Juice of Vidari, sugarcane and lotus stalk mixed with
milk, sugarcandy and honey should be taken.
- Ghee cooked with milk of buffalo, goat, sheep and cow and
juice of Amalaki all in equal quantity should be taken to
alleviate Paittika cough.
- Treatment of Kaphaja Kaasa
- The patient should take light food with vegetable soup of
Kulattha (horse gram) and radish containing alkali of Pippali or
with oils of sesamum, mustard and bilva followed by drink of
pure honey, sour, hot water, buttermilk or wine.
- Water dipped with Pushkaramula, Aragvadha root and Patola for
the night should be mixed with honey in three times of meal
(before, middle and after).
- Shunthi, Ativisha, Musta and Karkatasrngi, Haritaki and
Shati should be taken after adding asafetida and rock salt. Or
one should take the paste of Pippali 10gm.
- Powder of Sauvarchala, Haritaki, Amalaki, Alkali of Pippali
and Shunthi taken with ghee to alleviate cough caused by Vata &
Kapha.
- Ghee 640gm. should be cooked in 2.56 liter's of the decoction
of Kantakari (with root, fruit & leaves) with the paste of
Bala, Trikatu, Vidanga, Shati, Chitraka, Sauvarcala, Yavakshara,
Pippalimula, Pushkaramula, Bruhati, Haritaki, Yavani, Dadima,
Riddhi, Draksha, Punarnava, Chavya, Duralabha, Amlavetasa,
Srngi, Tamalaki, Bhargi, Raasna and Gokhshura.
- Treatment of Kshataja Kaasa
- Paste of Pippali and Madhuka and sugarcandy - each 10gms,
cow's milk, goat's milk, sugarcane juice - each 640ml., flour of
barley and wheat, Mrdvika, Amalaka juice and (tila) oil - each
80ml should be mixed together and cooked on mild fire. When
cooled, ghee and honey should be added.
- Treatment of Kshayaja Kaasa
- If the disease is newly arisen, treatment should be started
after declaring its difficult nature. One should administer the
measures promoting body- weight and digestive power. If the
patient has plenty of impurity, he should be given unctuous and
mild purgation.
- Evacuative Ghruta cooked with Aragvadha, Trivrta, grape
juice, decoction of Tilvaka and juice of Vidari (in such
condition, protection of his body and strength is desirable)
should be taken by such a patient.
- When Pitta and Kapha are diminished and Dhatus are wasted,
one should take ghee cooked with Karkatasrngi, milk and two
types of Bala.
- Ghee should be cooked in decoction of two Panchamulas
(Dashamula), Triphala, Chavika, Bharangi, Chitraka, Kulattha,
Pippalimula, Pathya, Kola and Yava, with the paste of Shunthi,
Duralabha, Pippali, pushkarmula and Karkatasrngi must be divided
in equal parts. When it is prepared, powder of two alkalis
(Yavakshara and Svarjikshara) and five salts should be added and
taken in proper dose by the patient of cough caused by wasting.
- Ghee mixed with Amalaka fruits boiled in milk should be
cooked in double quantity of pomegranate juice along with
Trikatu. It should be taken after meals.
- Yavakshara-Ghruta (ghee processed with Yavakshara) or ghee
cooked in goat's milk with pippali and jaggery is administered.
These Ghrutas are administered to those suffering from cough
caused by wasting in order to improve the Agni and for cleansing
in case of sticking of Dosha (impurity) in channels of belly and
chest.
Commonly Used Drugs
- Churna
- Marichadya Churna- (Bhaisajya Ratnavali)- Kaasa Chikitsa
- Samsharkar Churna- (Bhaisajya Ratnavali)- Kaasa Chikitsa
- Talishadya Churna- (Bhaisajya Ratnavali)- Kaasa Chikitsa
- Sitopaladi Churna (yogratnakar)- Rajyakshma Chikitsa
- Lauha
- Chandramrut Lauha- Kaasa chikitsa
- Rasa Kalpa
- Mahalaxmi Vilas (Ayurved Saar Sangroha)
- Vasant Kusumakar Rasa (Siddhayog Sangraha)
- Arishtha
- Draksharishta- Bharat Bhiasjya Ratnakar
- Bhasma
- Abhrak (Ras Raj Sunder)
- Moti Bhasma (Ras Tarangini & Rasendra Saar Sangraha)
- Raupya Bhasma (Rasendra Saar Sangraha)
- Shrng Bhasma ( Ras Tarangini)
- Suvarna Bhasma (Siddhayog Sangrata)
- Pishti
- Praval Pishti (Ayurved Saar Sangraha)
- Moti Pishti (Ayurved Saar Sangraha)
- Leha
- Vasavleha (Bhaishajya Ratnavali)- Rajyakshma Chikitsa
- Ghruta
- Kantkari Ghruta (Bhaishajya Ranavali)- Kaasa Chikitsa
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