Therapeutic Importance of LEPA in Ayurveda

Therapeutic Importance of LEPA in Ayurveda

Author Name : Dr. Himanshu Shekhar, Dr. Prabhat Kumar Diwivedi, Dr. Pavan Kumar

ABSTRACT

Skin is the largest organ of the body with its great cosmetic value. It has an ample of importance as it is one of the five Gyanendriyas (sense organ); it is readily exposed to external environment i.e. skin is the outermost covering of body and the largest organ of the integumentary system. Skin care is very important aspect for beauty which indirectly affects owns personality. Cosmetology in Ayurveda has great demand to its uniqueness and long-lasting effect in beauty. So, skin diseases are major health problem with emotional and psychological burden on patients. In Ayurvedic classics, almost all the skin diseases come under the broad heading of Kushtha roga. Dadru is a type of Kushtha which can be correlated with Tinea infection (fungal infection) in modern science. Three genera of dermatophytes infect skin i.e. Trichophyton spp, Epidermophyton spp and Microsporum spp. Ayurveda describes a multitude of treatment modalities for such skin diseases in relation with various types of kushtha roga. One of them is the topical application of medicaments over the skin for topical absorption which allows faster absorption and better management of a number of skin diseases called as Lepa kalpana. It is a specific procedure to use herbal or herbo-mineral drug topically to cure the skin ailments. Although lepa is an important therapy in various diseases but it is highly useful specifically in dermatological diseases.

Keywords: Kushtha roga, Lepa kalpana, Skin diseases, Gyanendriya