complementary medicine

Ayurveda approach to Genital Herpes

Dosha theory which help in diagnosis of the diseases

According to ayurveda three doshas or three energetic forces control the activities of the body. These doshas are
1. Vata
2. Pitta
3. Kapha


VATA: The Vata dosha is the most important of the three doshas. It has been said in ayurveda classic books that “ pitta
Kapha and all other body tissues are considered lame without assistance of VATA .” Vata dominates the lower part of the body
which is below umbilicus. The movements of body fluid
metabolism
elimination of waste products
semen ejaculation
pushing the fetus out of body
relaying stimulus to brain and response to organs and tissues
heart beat
respiration
body movements etc are assisted by VATA.


Vata dominated regions are intestines
lumbar region
ears
bones and skin.

Vata gets vitiated due to following reasons.
1. Controlling natural urges like urination
defecation
hunger
thirst
etc.
2. Late nights.
3. Irregular food habits.
4. Talking in a high pitch.
5. Over physical and mental exertion.
6. Consumption of spicy
dry
bitter foods.
7. Exposure to severe dry and cold climate.

The opposites of above-mentioned reason normalize the vitiated vata.


PITTA: The pitta dosha assists the body fire or Agni
which plays a major role in body’s metabolic activities. The locations where pitta dominates are digestive system
skin
eyes
brain
and blood. Pitta maintains body temperature. The secretions like digestive juices pigments like melanin (bhrajaka pitta)
hemoglobin (ranjaka pitta) are all types of pitta.

Pitta is dominant in regions of Umbilicus
stomach
sweat
lymph
blood
eyes and skin.

Vata gets vitiated due to following reasons.
1. Excess consumption of spicy
sour
salty foods.
2. Consuming alcohol in excess.
3. Over exposure to hot sunny climate.
4. Short temperedness.
5. Using dried vegetables.
6. Indigestion of food.

The opposites of above-mentioned reason normalize the vitiated pitta.




KAPHA: Kapha provides bulk to body
lubrications
moistness
fertility
stability
strength
and memory. Helps in binding process wherever necessary. This is heaviest of all doshas.

Kapha dominated regions are chest
neck
head
stomach
body fat
nose and tongue

Kapha gets vitiated due to following reasons.
1. Sleeping in daytime.
2. Consuming sweets
chilled food
in excess.
3. Consuming fish
sesame
sugarcane
milk and milk products.

The opposites of above-mentioned reason normalize the vitiated kapha.

When these doshas are in balanced condition the body remains healthy. If these doshas get imbalanced the body succumbs to diseases. Doshas get imbalanced frequently due to change in climate
seasons
lifestyles
diet etc. The treatment is to bring back the doshas to normalcy and expel the toxin or ama produced during the imbalanced condition.

Causes of Genital Herpes
Herpes is caused by a virus the herpes simplex virus (HSV)
which belongs to the same family of viruses that cause chickenpox. There are two types of herpes simplex viruses
1. Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) and mostly causes oral herpes
2. Herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2). And mostly causes genital herpes
However
both type-1 and type-2 can occur in the genitals
oral area or both.
Due to unhealthy life styles and diet the delicate balance between doshas get disturbed. This disturbs the body fire or Agni.
(Agni is the body fire
which is responsible for transformation of one substance to another. It breaks down the food substances
eliminates toxins and wastes
maintains body temperature
and resists the invasion of microbes by maintaining strong body immunity.
The body fire
which is assisted by balanced doshas
digests the food completely to form Pakwa Anna rasa (the liquid form of food which is completely digested by digestive enzymes)
which is ready to get absorbed by body tissues. According to ayurveda Pakwa Anna Rasa nourishes the body and its components to keep the body devoid of diseases. But when body fire is impaired there will be an incomplete digestion of food forming Apakwa Rasa (indigested food). The indigested food fails to nourish the body components leading to lowered body resistance.)

The disturbed Agni fails to digest the food and toxins get accumulated in body due to improper metabolism. Accumulation of toxins reduces the body immunity and paves the way for invasion by microbes.
When a person who has low immunity comes in contact with HSV virus
he/she gets the genital or oral herpes.
Unhealthy lifestyle
1. Over eating
2. Sleeping in afternoons.
3. Over physical exertion.
4. Over mental exertion
5. Consuming food frequently even when not hungry.
6. Constant exposure to hot sunny climates
Unhealthy diet
Excessive consumption of
1. Salty
sour
hot
spicy food.
2. Sour curds
3. Alcohol.
4. Cheese
5. Charred and overcooked food.
6. Sesame
Bengal gram
horse gram
sesame oil
rice flour
garlic
fish.
Opposite foods
1. Curds
salt
mushrooms
bamboo shoots
sour fruits
meat
prawn
pork
should not be consumed with milk. The above-mentioned foods should not be consumed by mixing one item with another.
2. Sprouts
honey and milk should not be consumed with meat and fish.
3. Fish & milk: fish &sugarcane juice; jaggery & pork; honey & pork; milk & mango; banana & milk; are opposite foods.
The Transmission Of genital Herpes
A person can get genital herpes in following conditions
1. If he is sexual active and when he performs sex (oral or genital) with infected partners.
2. A person who has oral herpes transmits herpes to genital organs of a partner during oral sex and a person who has genital herpes transmits this to his partner during coitus when they have a genital contact.
3. The disease gets transmitted when mucous membrane comes in contact with infected area.
The disease gets transmitted mostly during active phase. But it may spread even during asymptomatic (when person is free of symptoms for a particular duration) phase. The virus needs a fluid media for its transportation. The body fluids like saliva
semen
vaginal tract secretions etc. Mucous membranes in mouth
vagina
urethra or open wounds facilitate the virus invasion due to their moistness.
In Genital herpes there is an imbalance of all three doshas (VATA
PITTA
KAPHA)
which in turn vitiate lasika (lymph)
blood (rakta)
muscle (mamsa) and skin (twacha).
The imbalanced doshas vitiate skin and the immunity of skin cells is lowered. The virus attacks these weak cells and starts exhibiting symptoms on affected area.
Local symptoms
1. Pricking sensation
2. Edema
3. Pain
4. Feeling of constriction
5. A sensation of ant creeping
6. Many small eruptions gathering in a small area.
7. These eruptions or blisters burst soon with exudates.
8. These blisters will have different colors according to involvement of doshas. (Blackish red or blue in vata
red
yellow
copper colored in pitta
shades of white in kapha).


The weakened body immune system tries to resist the virus invasion but fails to achieve the goal. In this futile attempt the following systemic symptoms are exhibited.

Systemic symptoms
1. Fever
2. Weakness
3. Indigestion
4. Impaired bowels
5. Increased frequency of urination.
6. Body pain.
7. Increased thirst.

Imbalanced vata causes the symptoms like pain
swelling and body ache

The imbalanced pitta and vitiated blood and skin cause
1. Blisters

2. Change the color of skin

3. Cause burning sensation
and fever.

The imbalanced kapha and vitiated lymph cause itching
tingling sensation.

After the first attack the virus moves from skin through the nerve paths to base of the nerve and becomes inactive. Now the herpes infected person will be devoid of all symptoms. But the imbalance of doshas still persists.
Reactivation of Virus to cause outbreaks
At unpredictable times
the virus becomes active. It multiplies and resurfaces on skin by traveling through the nerve path and exhibits the symptoms locally. The severity of symptoms of out break depends on the strength of body immunity.
The pelvis or shroni
nerves and skin are dominated by vata. When vata gets vitiated due to precipitating factors
it reactivates the virus dormant in base of nerve end and the virus travel through nerve paths to reach the skin surface.
Precipitating Factors
As we know the outbreaks have few precipitating factors like
1. Excessive exposure to sun.
2. Illness

3. Poor diet

4. Emotional stress
5. Physical stress

6. Friction

7. Steroids
8. Menstruation.
9. Emotional stress.
10. Genital trauma and intercourse.
11. Repeated infections such as a cold or pneumonia.
These factors increase vata and increased vata activates the virus
which is dormant.
Low Immunity The systemically imbalanced doshas interfere with the body metabolism by vitiating the body fire (agni). This leads to indigestion and malassimilation of nutrients
which in turn causes poor immunity. Due to decreased immunity the body fails to offer resistance to outbreaks.

Ayurveda Tips to avoid outbreaks

Avoid
1. Spicy
sour
fried and junk food
which aggravates vata.
2. Precipitating factors.
3. Sleeping in afternoon.
4. Meat products over fried or deep fried in oil or fat.
5. Charred and overcooked food.
6. Consuming opposite food like fish and milk etc
7. Physical exertion after a meal
8. Taking bath immediately after exercise or heavy outdoor work.

Include honey
pomegranate
and fruits of Emblica officinalis
legumes
dates and raisins in your diet.
Practice Yoga and Meditation to control emotional disturbances
Ayurveda References
1. Sushruta Samhita
2. Charaka Samhita
3. Madhava nidana
4. Ashtanga Sangraha
5. Yoga Ratnakara