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According to the World Health Organization, Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease caused by inherited and/or acquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas, or by the ineffectiveness of the insulin produced. Such a deficiency results in increased concentration of glucose in the blood, which in turn damages many of the body's systems, particularly the blood vessels and nerves. Diabetes Mellitus is commonly called as Diabetes.
The main signs and symptoms of this disease are polyuria (excessive urination),Polydipsia(excessive thirst) , polyphagea (excessive appetite), and often accompanied by unusual weight loss.
There are mainly three types of diabetes mellitus.
Type I – Generally called as Juvenile diabetes as it mainly affects the young people and children. In this type the insulin production in the cells of islets of Langerhans of pancreas is insufficient for the glucose metabolism or it is nil. This may be either due to functional or structural deficiencies of the insulin producing cells. This can only be managed by direct insulin administration.
Type II – It is the common form of diabetes. It is due to the resistance or loss of sensitivity of the cells towards insulin. Here the insulin level in the body may be normal but the blood glucose level will be high.
Gestational diabetes: It mostly resembles the type II diabetes. It is found in 2-
The International Diabetes Federation estimates that more than 250 million people around the world suffer from diabetes. This total is expected to rise to 380 million within 20 years. Each year a further 7 million people develop diabetes. Presently there is no complete cure for diabetes, but fortunately it can be managed without complications by using proper medication.
Diabetes Mellitus is a condition which can be compared with Neerizhivu in Siddha. The other names described in the texts are the Madhumegham and Inippuneer. The signs and symptoms explained are increased urination both in frequency and quantity. There will be flies surrounding the urine voided place, there will also be weight loss, dryness of the skin, etc.
Naadi (The Pulse reading), Moothira parisothanai (Urine Examination) etc are used to diagnose the condition. The disease comes under the catagory of Megha diseases.
Management
In siddha, the management of a disease not only depends on the medicine but the modification of food, habits, and lifestyle also. Several medicines are prescribed in siddha texts and the disease is managed successfully by Siddha practitioners. The regulations in food, daily habits etc. are the specialty of most of these medicines. Some commonly used medicines are:
Madhumegha choornam
Seenthil choornam
Naval chornam
Seenthil Kudineer
Aavarai kudineer
Abraga Parpam
Vanga parpam etc
In addition to the prepared medicines, there are several herbal combinations for the management of this disease. All these medicines are to be used with the prescription of a Siddha medical practitioner and with proper regimen. These medicines include several plants with anti-
Jambolinor Naval (Syzygium cuminii)
Sarkarai Kolli (Gymnema Sylvestre)
Kadalazhinjil or Eganayakam (Salacia reticulate)
Seenthil or Amrithu (Tinospora cordifolia)
Vilwam (Aigil marmalose) etc.
The regulation in habits, food and other activities are called as regimen. Even if there are so many do's and don'ts it is said that food that is necessary for sustaining the vitality of the body should be consumed without fail. It is said that one should avoid day time sleep and the sexual intercourse in the daytime.
November 14 th is considered as World Diabetes Day. Let us hope that advanced research will unearth the hidden resources of indigenous systems of medicine for combating this malaise of mankind.