Ati-Yogcl (Over-Drugging With Purgatives, Etc.)

Women, merchants, persons attending a king and pious Bráhmanas learned in the Vedas (S'rotriya) are often subjected to the necessity of repressing their natural urgings of the body towards micturition, etc., out of a sense of delicacy, fear or greed. The Vayu in their systems remains consequently aggravated and accordingly purgatives fail to easily produce any effect in their organism. Hence their system should be cleansed with purgatives preceded by Sveda (fomentations) and a copious application of Sneha. An over-dose of a purgative or a strong one administered to a person copiously treated with Sneha and Sveda or to one whose bowels are easily moved would exhibit the symptoms of an over-dosage (Ati-yoga) of purgatives.

Excessive emission of Pitta (bile), loss of strength (Bala) and an aggravation and augmentation of the deranged Váyu follow from the over dosage (Ati-yoga) of an emetic medicine. In such cases, the body of the patient should be anointed with clarified butter and he should be bathed in cold water and made to take a lambative † with sugar and honey with a due consideration of the nature and intensity of the Doshas involved. An over-dose of a purgative may bring on excessive emission of Kapha (mucus) mixed even with blood in the end. In this case, too, loss of strength (Bala) and en-ragement of the bodily Váyu would be the consequence. The patient in such a case should be sprinkled over with or bathed in very cold water and vomiting should be induced with potions of cold washings of rice mixed with honey. Applications of Pichchhá-vasti and of Anuvásana enemetas with milk and clarified butter are recommendc 1. The patient should also be made to drink potions of the washings of rice mixed with the drugs of the Priyangvádi group The diet should consist of boiled rice with milk or meat soup. 9-10.

* Dallana says that the system of the patient, in this case, should be cleansed with an emetic or a purgative as the case may be.

† A different reading says that the patient should be fomented with washings of rice mixed with honey.

Jivádána (Haemorrhage) Due To Excessive Vomiting

In the event of an excessive use of an emetic the patient may spit or vomit blood. In such a case the tongue hangs out (of the mouth) and the eyes seem to expand, and numbness of the jaws, thirst, hiccough, fever and faintness are found to supervene. A potion of goat's blood, red Chandana, Us'ira, Anjana and the powders of fried paddy mixed with water and sugar, should be administered in these cases. As an alternative, the patient should be made to take his food in the Peyá form with the expressed juice of fruits (such as the Dadimba, etc.,) and with clarified butter, honey and sugar, or a Peyá prepared with the sprouts of Vata, etc. with honey, or one cooked with any drug having the power of producing costiveness; or he should be made to take his food with milk or with the soup of the meat of a Jángala animal. Measures laid down in respect of excessive bleeding or haemorrhage should also be resorted to 11.

In a case of excessive protrusion or hanging down of the tongue, the organ should be rubbed with powdered Trikatu and rock-salt or pasted with a plaster of sesamum and grapes (Drákshá and re-introduced into its proper place and position after which some other men should be made to taste any acid article in the sight of the patient. In a case of the expansion of the eyes they should be rubbed with clarified butter and (gently) pressed. Errhines and fomentations (of the part with drugs) antidotal to the deraoged Váyu and Kapha, are recommended in a case of a numbness or catching pain of the jaw-bones in such cases. The other supervening distresses such as thirst etc. should be treated with appropriate medicinal remedies. A faintness (under the circumstances) should be broken with the (sweet) sounds of a lute or a lyre. 12.