Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, is very old. Despite its Indian origins, it is not as popular as the comparatively younger western medicine, at least, in many parts of the country. Many have a vague knowledge about Ayurveda and even have misconceptions about its treatment methods. Here are a few common misapprehensions about the 5,000-year-old system of natural healing method and ways to overcome them.
1. Ayurveda involves a lot of dietetic restrictions
One of the most common fears associated with Ayurveda is that it calls for major restrictions on the food a patient consumes during the treatment. It is true that the treatment calls for dietetic restrictions, but what people don’t know is that these restrictions, mostly, are not because of the medicines they take but because of their condition. It is common knowledge that if you have a sore throat, you are advised not to take anything cold, even if you are not on any medicine. Similar restrictions need to be followed when one is taking Ayurvedic medicines. Being a holistic science, Ayurveda does not work by temporarily silencing your immune system.
It works by modulating it and that’s why what you eat needs to be monitored.
2. Ayurvedic medicines contain mercury and arsenic
Being a stream of science that derives its medicine from natural sources (plants, animals and minerals) it definitely has medications that contain mercury and lead. But even before they are made into a medical formulation, such as a lehya or choorna, they are subjected to various purification processes and even tested. It is when these purification processes are not done properly or the designated dose goes wrong that the medicines prove to be harmful. It is advisable to seek your doctor’s advice about the pharmacy from where you will buy the medicine.
3. Ayurveda has no side effect
This is a dangerous misconception about the traditional medicine system. Such an erroneous belief encourages people to buy medicines over the counter. Often people resort to self-medication on the advise of neighbours and friends who, probably, got cured with the same method or medicine that they had suggested. This is very dangerous. Probably the neighbour or friend had a degenerative condition, but the condition of one who is following their advice need not be as severe and the person risk aggravating the problem. So always visit a doctor, get yourself checked and follow the medical advice.
Our medical system sadly doesn’t have an efficient way to monitor the quacks in the science. Such quacks often treat people by brandishing an unheard family name linked to Ayurveda. They have no idea about the working of the human system or the adverse conditions under which the medicine should not be given. To be safe, get a background check on your doctor too before your enroll for treatment.
4. Ayurveda is only for treating orthopaedic cases
For decades Ayurveda has remained unrivalled for the cure of orthopaedic conditions such as arthritis and intervertebral disc prolapse. The truth is it is effective even for curing common ailments such as fever, common cold as well as complex conditions such as bronchial asthma, irregular menstruation, etc. It has also been proven that neurological issues such as median nerve compression, strokes, cerebral atrophy, etc. have also had a spectacular improvement through Ayurvedic treatment.
5. A massage is enough to cure the pain
Ayurvedic doctors are familiar with people who refuse any consultation prior to availing of various forms of massage therapy. They believe minor aches are caused by stress and can be cured with massage. After all what harm could a massage do? Again a big misconception. Unlike in a spa, the Ayurvedic abhyanga (commonly known as massage) is a therapeutic treatment. It is generally deep and aimed to increase circulation. Hence if you have a heart condition or deep vein thrombosis then a massage may turn out to be fatal while exerting on the heart and dislodging the clot. Massages of a different kind, with poultice, is what needs to be done for thrombotic conditions. Similarly, if you have an inflammation, a massage mostly aggravates the condition, sometimes because of the manner it is done or because of the oil used. Hence it is always advisable to check with your doctor on what kind of massage would be advisable for you.
(The author is an Ayurveda doctor. You may reach her on dhanya@dhanyasayurveda.com)