PNEUMONIA

Introduction:

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of one or both the lungs basically affecting the smaller air sacs known as alveoli. Pneumonia is basically caused by various microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses or fungi. It is a serious condition of the lungs in which the air sacs fill with fluid or pus. It commonly occurs in infants, young children, old age or people with low immunity. It ranges from mild to serious life threatening disease.

Causative Agents: the most common microorganism causing pneumonia is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Other causative agents are

• Mycoplasma pneumoniae
•  Haemophilus influenzae
•  Rhinovirus
• Adenovirus
• SARS infection
• Parainfluenza virus
• Respiratory syncytial virus.
• Histoplasmosis species

Risk factors: 

• Infants
• Person ages 65 or above
• Weaker immunity
• Pregnant women
• HIV
• Medications like steroids
• Chronic illness like cystic fibrosis, asthma, diabetes
• Hospitalized patients
• People exposed to irritants, air pollutants, toxic fumes

Various Types of pneumonia: 

• Hospital acquired pneumonia
• Community acquired pneumonia
• Ventilator associated pneumonia
• Aspiration pneumonia

Stages of Pneumonia:

Stages of the pneumonia can be classified on the basis of which area of lung it may affecting :

• Bronchopneumonia: The area of the lungs  affected in the bronchopneumonia are bronchi, the tubes connect to windpipe (trachea)
• Lobar pneumonia: Lobar pneumonia occurs in the lobes of the lungs. It is further divided into four stages:

1. Congestion: The air sacs are  filled with fluid, heavy and congested.
2. Red Hepatization: in the fluid filled sac red blood cells and white blood cells enter that leads to red discoloration and hardness.
3. Gray Hepatization: red blood cells breaks down responsible for gray color from red
4. Resolution: white blood cells help in clearing the infection

Signs and symptoms: 

• Fever with chills (shet jwara)
• Shallow and rapid breathing (shwas adhikya)
• Productive cough (kasa)
• Pain in chest (hridya school)
• Loss of appetite (aruchi)
• Nausea and vomiting (hrillas, chhardi)
• Headache (shirshool)
• Fatigue and low in energy (Durbalta)
• Confusion especially in older person (bhram)

Complications:

• Bacteremia
• Lung Abscess
• Pleural effusion
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome
• Impairment in breathing
• Fatal

Diagnosis :

• Blood test
• Chest X-ray
• Pulse oximetry
• Sputum test
• CT scan
• Pleural fluid culture
• Arterial blood gas test
• bronchoscopy

Ayurvedic Aspect:

Ayurveda is an ancient science from more than 3000 years. All the disorders in the human body are due to imbalance of doshas (body humors) ; those are vata, pitta and kapha. The main involvement of doshas in Pneumonia are vata and kapha dosha. In  Ayurveda pneumonia is called shwasanaka jwara (fever). Here in pneumonia kapha dosha is vitiated along with ama (toxins) that block the microchannels of the body known as strotas. The agni from the kostha (stomach), pushes the heat towards peripheries that is skin raising the body temperature and giving other symptoms like rigors, thick productive cough, chest pain, weakness, delirium.

The first line of treatment to manage jwara (fever) as per Ayurveda is langhana (fasting). Laghana helps in resolution of  ama condition and kapha dosha. After the digestion of ama,  vamana (induced vomiting) therapy is to be done. Vamana is a bio purification process that helps to remove toxins from the body including excess of kapha accumulation. Vamana helps with the symptoms like cough, breathing difficulties. Laghana and Vamana are contradicted in the patients with  predominant vata.

Chandigarh Ayurved Centre treatment for Pneumonia :

Product Description:

1. Cough  powder:

This ayurvedic powder is very effective in coughing with mucus, cold, and other respiratory disorders. Cough powder is a mixture of some ayurvedic ingredients like talisadi churna, abharak, godanti, lakshmi vilas ras, yashtimadhu churna, tankan , kaph ketu ras. These ingredients in combination shows:

• Antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Bronchodilator
• Expectorant properties.

Recommended Dosage: Take 1 sachet twice a day with honey.

2. Trikatu Tablet:

 As the name suggests three ingredients are used for its preparation like Shunthi, Pippali, & Maricha. These herbs in combination deal with

• loss of appetite
• Gas
• Flatulence and bloating
• abdominal distension
• weak digestion
• Constipation
• abdominal pain

Recommended Dosage: Take 1 tablet twice daily with normal water.

3. Cough Go Tablets:

These herbal tablets are beneficial in cough, cold, bronchitis, & other respiratory disorders. Cough Go Tablets are ayurvedic formulation containing Sonth (Zingiber officinale), Mulethi (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Pippali (Piper longum), Kali mirch (Piper nigrum), etc. All these ingredients show:

• antioxidant
• anti-inflammatory
• expectorant properties
• Manages chronic cough
• Headache

Recommended Dosage – Take 1 tablet twice daily with normal water.

4. Giloy capsule:

Giloy capsules are formed with the standardized extract of herb giloy (Tinospora cordifolia). In ancient ayurveda text Giloy is considared to be Rasayana (potent rejuvenator). The benefits of the herbs are as follows:

• improves immunity
• remove toxins from the body,
• purifies blood
• beneficial in cough and cold
• Fever
• bronchitis

Recommended Dosage: Take 2 capsules twice a day with normal water.

5. Nerve up tablets:

Nerve up tablets help in balancing the vata doshas and kapha dosha, and act as a nervous stimulant. It shows effective results in improving the central nervous system. It contains natural ingredients like shudh kuchla, shuddha shilajeet, abhrak, praval pishti, shankh bhasma etc. These contain natural vatahar properties and help in curing vata disorders, speed up physical and mental processes. It acts as:

• Respiratory stimulant
• helps in relieving Joint pain, Inflammation and  Stiffness
• Gout
• Arthritis
• Bodyache
• Erectile dysfunction
• Body weakness

Recommended Dosage: Take 1 tablet twice daily.

6. Amrit Tulsi Ras:

Amrit Tulsi Ras is a pure herbal preparation containing five types of Tulsi extract such as Ocimum sanctum, Ocimum gratissimum, Ocimum canum, Ocimum basilicum, Ocimum citriodorum. These herbal drops helps in following manner:

• Increases immunity
• Helps to treat cough,
• Common cold
• Skin and respiratory diseases, especially bronchitis
• Effective in bacterial and viral infections

Recommended Dosage: Take 2 drops twice daily in a cup of water.