AYURVEDIC MANAGEMENT OF TAO (BUERGER’S DISEASE) – A CASE STUDY

Dr. Suman Jaiprakash Saroj*, Dr. Sanjay Kasle and Dr. Seema Giri

ABSTRACT

T.A.O also called as buerger’s disease or smoker’s disease is a arterial disease. It is non-atherosclerotic inflammatory disorder involving medium sized and distal arteries.[1] Mainly occurs in young males between ages of 20-40 years and is common in lower limbs. The common cause of the disease is smoking, so called as smoker’s disease. In early stage it is unilateral but later involves both the limbs. Causes include hypersensitivity to cigarette, recurrent minor feet injuries, poor hygiene and altered autonomic functions.[2] Sign and symptoms include intermittent claudication, discolouration of the involved limb, decreased local temperature, rest pain, ulceration and gangrene, absence/feeble distal pulses and recurrent superficial thrombophlebitis. Modern management of this disease includes conservative with use of vasodilators, pentoxyfylline and low dose aspirin. Surgical management includes lumbar sympathectomy, omentoplasty, and if gangrenous stage is there then amputation is the choice3. These means of treatment are costly, not satisfying and associated with complications. In Ayurveda, the disease is not mentioned as it is but the features can be correlated with the strotodushti lakshanas like sanga and siranam granthi.[4] Also there is vitiation of rakta so raktavaha strotodushti.[5] is also involved. Hence, based on these two references the further treatment was planned. The management included leech therapy, guduchi swaras orally and til taila dhara locally.They helped to improve the vitiated rakata, maintained the collateral circulation and increased the micro circulation. All these means gave satisfactory results and the patient was able to do his daily activites without any trouble.

Keywords: T.A.O, Raktavah strotasa, leech therapy, Guduchi swaras, Til tail dhara.