Diseases

Conditions as Ayurveda frames them, alongside the plain modern description, with the red flags that mean see a doctor now.

61 entries

Abdominal lump / gulma

Gulma — a movable, glandular or gaseous swelling of the abdomen between the diaphragm and pelvis, chiefly vata-driven, that grows and subsides.

Anaemia

Pandu — pallor/anaemia from depleted or vitiated blood, often pitta and iron-poor.

Anorexia / loss of appetite

Aruchi — loss of desire for food and distaste in the mouth from aggravated doshas and impaired agni, or from a disturbed mind.

Anxiety

Chinta/Udvega — worry and anxiety, classically aggravated vata unsettling the mind.

Ascites / abdominal enlargement

Udara roga — a group of serious disorders of progressive abdominal distension with fluid, from grossly impaired agni and obstruction of the abdominal channels.

Bleeding disorders (spontaneous haemorrhage)

Raktapitta — a disorder of spontaneous bleeding from the orifices when aggravated pitta vitiates and liquefies the rakta, driving it out through various passages.

Common cold

Pratishyaya — the common cold/rhinitis, usually aggravated kapha with vata.

Constipation

Vibandha — irregular, hard or infrequent stool, the classic face of aggravated vata.

Convulsions / tetany (context)

Apatanaka — episodic generalised stiffening and convulsive arching from severely aggravated vata, a serious vatavyadhi.

Cough

Kasa — cough of several dosha types, from dry vata cough to productive kapha cough.

Diarrhoea

Atisara — loose stools from aggravated agni/doshas; can quickly cause dehydration.

Dyslipidaemia / disordered fat metabolism

Medoroga — disorder of the meda dhatu with excess and vitiated fat obstructing channels, underlying raised lipids and metabolic disturbance.

Earache / otalgia

Karnashula — pain in the ear, chiefly a vata disorder of the ear channels, sometimes with pitta or kapha causing discharge.

Eczema

Vicharchika — eczema-type itchy, oozing, thickened skin within the kushtha group.

Epilepsy (seizure disorder)

Apasmara — paroxysmal loss of memory and consciousness with abnormal movements, from doshas obstructing the mind's seat (hridaya-manovaha).

Erectile dysfunction / impotence

Klaibya — inability to perform the sexual act from depleted or vitiated shukra and disturbed vata, often with a psychological component.

Excessive thirst

Trishna — persistent unquenchable thirst arising when aggravated pitta and vata dry the channels carrying water (udakavaha srotas).

Fever

Jvara — 'the king of diseases', the body's response classically tied to disturbed agni and ama.

Gout

Vatarakta — vitiated vata lodged in vitiated rakta causing intensely painful, often nocturnal joint inflammation beginning at the extremities.

Hair fall / alopecia

Khalitya — pitta-driven hair fall where heated pitta with vata and kapha scorches the hair roots, causing thinning and baldness.

Headache

Shirahshoola — headaches of dosha types: throbbing pitta, tight vata, heavy kapha/sinus.

Heart disorder

Hridroga — classical heart disease; educational overview only, always a clinical matter.

Hemiplegia / paralysis (stroke context)

Pakshaghata — a severe vatavyadhi in which aggravated vata strikes one half of the body, causing loss of movement and sensation, the context of stroke.

Hiccough

Hikka — a vata-kapha disorder of upward-moving prana producing repeated involuntary spasmodic sounds; classics grade it by severity.

Hyperacidity

Amlapitta — sour, sharp digestion classically tied to aggravated pitta: burning, sour reflux, indigestion.

Hypertension (context)

Uchcha raktachapa — raised pressure of the moving blood, understood through vitiated vata and rakta with pitta strain on the circulation and heart.

Insomnia

Anidra — difficulty sleeping, classically aggravated vata (and sometimes pitta) disturbing rest.

Intermittent fever (malaria context)

Vishamajwara — irregular, remittent and intermittent fevers with unpredictable timing, driven by ama and vata with the other doshas.

Intestinal worms / parasitic infestation

Krimi — a group of disorders from visible and subtle organisms breeding in an ama-laden, kapha-predominant gut.

Jaundice / liver disorder

Kamala — jaundice, a pitta-dominant liver disorder (often follows pandu).

Liver disorders

Yakrit vikara — disorders of the liver (yakrit), a pitta-dominant seat of rakta, where vitiated pitta and rakta impair its functions.

Low back pain / lumbar stiffness

Katigraha — vata-driven stiffness and catching pain in the lumbar region (kati), a common vata-sthana disorder.

Low mood

Vishada — despondency/low mood; often kapha-vata, treated with activation and support.

Malabsorption / IBS-like disorder

Grahani — a disorder of the digestive fire and small intestine giving irregular stools, bloating and weakness.

Male infertility / seminal disorders

Shukra dushti — the eight vitiations of shukra (semen) that impair its quantity, quality and function, underlying male subfertility.

Menopause / menopausal syndrome

Rajonivritti — the natural cessation of menses at the vata stage of life, when declining rasa-rakta and rising vata produce menopausal symptoms.

Menstrual disorders

Artava dushti / rajodosha — disorders of the menstrual blood and cycle from vitiation of artava by the doshas, giving irregular, painful, scanty or excessive menses.

Metabolic / urinary disorder (diabetes spectrum)

Prameha — a family of urinary/metabolic disorders including madhumeha (diabetes), often kapha-rooted.

Migraine

Ardhavabhedaka — classical one-sided headache matching migraine, often vata-pitta.

Mouth and oral disorders

Mukharoga — a broad class of disorders of the lips, gums, teeth, tongue, palate and throat from local vitiation of the doshas and rakta.

Obesity

Sthaulya — excess medas (fat) with aggravated kapha, one of the 'eight despised' conditions.

Osteoarthritis

Sandhivata — degenerative joint pain of aggravated vata, the classical 'wear' arthritis.

Painful urination (UTI)

Mutrakrichra — painful/difficult urination, commonly a pitta-dominant urinary condition.

Piles (Haemorrhoids)

Arsha — haemorrhoids, classically rooted in weak agni and chronic constipation.

Premature greying of hair

Palitya — premature greying from aggravated pitta heat reaching the hair, often with anger, stress and heat as drivers.

Progressive dimness of vision (cataract context)

Timira — progressive dimness of vision from doshas vitiating the patalas (layers) of the eye; its advanced stage (linganasha) corresponds to blinding cataract.

Psoriasis (context)

Kitibha — a vata-kapha kushtha with dry, rough, blackish-brown thickened scaly plaques resembling psoriasis.

Psychosis / severe mental disturbance (context)

Unmada — derangement of mind, intellect, memory and conduct when aggravated doshas cloud the seat of the mind.

Rheumatoid-type joint pain

Amavata — ama + vata producing migrating, stiff, swollen painful joints (RA-like).

Ringworm (dermatophytosis)

Dadru — a kapha-pitta kshudra kushtha marked by itchy, raised, coppery ring-shaped patches with a spreading border.

Sciatica

Gridhrasi — sciatica, radiating leg pain along the vata channel from the low back.

Skin disorders

Kushtha — the broad classical category of skin diseases, always tri-doshic with rakta involvement.

Splenomegaly / spleen disorder

Plihodara — enlargement of the spleen (pliha), a kapha-rakta seat, presenting as a firm left-sided abdominal mass, classed among the udara (abdominal) diseases.

Swelling / oedema

Shotha — generalized or local swelling from fluid and dosha accumulation.

Urinary calculi (stones)

Ashmari — 'stone', formation of concretions in the urinary tract by kapha with dried-up dosha, causing colicky pain and obstructed flow; classically likened to a fearsome disorder.

Urinary retention / obstructed flow

Mutraghata — a group of disorders of suppressed or obstructed urine flow, primarily from aggravated apana vata in the urinary tract.

Urticaria / hives

Shitapitta — itchy transient wheals from vata and kapha carrying aggravated pitta to the skin, provoked by cold exposure and allergens.

Vitiligo

Shwitra — loss of skin pigment (leucoderma); a distinct classical entity managed slowly.

Vomiting

Chhardi — forceful upward expulsion of stomach contents when aggravated doshas push the contents of the stomach upward.

Wasting / consumption (tuberculosis context)

Rajayakshma — the 'king of diseases', a progressive tridosha wasting illness with cough, fever and dhatu depletion, historically the context of tuberculosis.

Wheezing / asthma-like breathlessness

Tamaka shvasa — episodic breathlessness with wheeze, classically kapha-vata in the chest.

Educational information about Ayurveda, Siddha and Yoga — not a medical diagnosis or treatment. Consult a qualified professional before starting any herb, supplement, or therapy.