How to Avoid Side Effects of Ayurvedic Medicines

October 4th, 2008 | admin

Ayurvedic medicines, majority of them don’t cause any undesirable side-effects. Rare cases of side effects for Ayurvedic medicines can be attributed to improper methods of administration, poor timing, or dietary imbalance. Another reason can be manufacturing defects.

Ancient Ayurvedic scriptures like Charaka Samhita recommend the right methods of medicine administration, medicine combination, diet and controls on activities. They also give specific advice on manufacturing process, the desirable environment to prepare medicines, and hundred other factors that affect the quality of medicines.

The dos and don’ts of administration of medicines are clearly explained in Ayurvedic texts.

One don’t is not to take Ayurvedic medicine when taking allopathic medicine. Though there are several exceptions to this case, the first thing you can do is to avoid Ayurvedic medicine while undergoing allopathic treatment and vice versa.

Ayurvedic medicines of high power are advised to take only for pre-determined number of days, weeks or months. If overdone, the favorable medicines show its undesirable side.

Some medicines are to be taken in the morning, some at mid day and some at night. There are specific reasons for the directions. The usage directions of a medicine are determined by the type of action the medicine does with your metabolism at different times of the day.

Presence of lead and lead poisoning in certain Ayurvedic formulations like Yogiraj Guggul was an apple of discord between Ayurvedic practitioners and general public. Lead has toxic property when used as such. But it also has medicinal properties which have to be brought forth by specialty processing, which lasts for many hours over a few days. Any short cuts taken here can cost heavily.

Another significantly important factor to look for in Ayurvedic medicines are the changes in environmental factors. At the time when Ayurvedic scripts were written and the knowledge passed down to generations, there were no pesticides in the air, water or earth. There were no vehicle fumes or smoke from factories. There were no acid rains. Dust was not a major problem.

Ayurveda Acharyas, would have never imagined present state of development and changes in environment. The plants that grow in this changed environment can have the unnecessary elements of modern environment. This also can be a reason for side-effects.

Organic farming of herbs in unpolluted environment, sticking to the preparation methods of Ayurvedic medicines as described in ancient text and  proper administration of medicines ensure a no-side-effect Ayurvedic treatment.