Ayurvedic Management of Ulcerative Colitis (...

Ayurvedic Management of Ulcerative Colitis (Raktaja Pravahika): A Case Report

Author Name : Dr. Radha Rewatkar, Dr. G. H Kodwani

ABSTRACT Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the mucosal and sub-mucosal layers of the colon.It begins in the rectum and extends in a continuous fashion to proximal segments of the colon. It is a challenging disease to manage due to its unexplained origin, remitting and relapsing course, drug dependency and drug resistant nature. The high rates of morbidity and mortality pose a serious problem for the healthcare providers.Overtime,especially in early stages, mortality from colon cancer is a major concern.Cardinal symptoms of this disease are bloody diarrhoea with rectal urgency and tenesmus with or without mucus, and abdominal pain which alleviates after defecation. In Ayurvedic texts, Raktaja pravahika can be correlated with Ulcerative colitis. This study involved a 23 year-old male diagnosed case of Ulcerative colitis, came to OPD of Rognidan, Government Ayurved College and Hospital, Nagpur complaining of repeated defecation, abdominal pain, blood mixed with stools since 3 months was given Sanshaman yogas and Matra Basti chikitsa .This case report illustrates the significance of Ayurvedic treatment modalities in the management of ulcerative colitis. The goals of the treatment is to achieve steroids free remission of the disease, to improve quality of life, minimize the risk of colon cancer and ulcerative colitis.