Abstract

RAKTA PRADOSHAJA VIKARA SHWITRA (VITILIGO) –OBSERVATION BASED MODERN CORRELATION

Nirank Kumar*, A.R. Dave, Mohan Krishna Dwivedi and Monika Katiyar

ABSTRACT

Introduction- Skin is the largest organ of our body. Beauty and attraction of individual depends upon it’s health. Shwitra ruins this beauty by causing depigmentation over different parts of body. It is described with Kushtha in most of the Ayurvedic classics. Pitta Dosha and Rakta Dhatu Dushti are considered main causes for skin diseases in Ayurveda. According to modern dermatology, Shwitra can be correlated with Vitiligo. Vitiligo is a progressive disease in which melanocytes are gradually destroyed causing depigmented or hypopigmented areas over skin. Researches suggest vitiligo may arise from autoimmune, genetic, oxidative stress, neural or viral causes. Materials and methods- Different Ayurvedic and modern parameters as per WHO (world Health Organization) were taken to diagnose the patients of Vitiligo(Shwitra). In this work blood samples of patients diagnosed with Shwitra were taken for hemoglobin level estimation to find out correlation as per told by Ayurveda considering Hb level as representative of Rakta. The study was conducted in OPD patients of Kayachikitsa department IPGT&RA, Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar, India. Total 43 patients enrolled for study. Results: Observations based on investigations were highly sopporting Ayurveda hypothesis.But this stands true for female patients exclusively as most of the male patients diagnosed Shwitra were having normal hemoglobin level as per WHO criteria.

Keywords: 1: Shwitra 2: Rakta 3: Vitiligo.