Instruction's to Patient

      WELCOME TO THE ARYA VAIDYA CHIKITSALAYAM & RESEARCH INSTITUTE
                                                         UNDER
                              THE AYURVEDIC TRUST, COIMBATORE

    "INSTRUCTIONS TO BE FOLLOWED DURING AND AFTER THE TREATMENT"

This provides you with useful information about the facilities available and procedures to be followed by you while undergoing treatment at the hospital. This is only to help make your stay more comfortable and enable you to get the maximum benefit from the treatment.
We request you to take your time and go through this information in detail. Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if you need any further information or clarifications.
Wishing you a very pleasant stay at our hospital! We pray to Lord Dhanvantari that you get the maximum benefit from the Treatment given
Yours in the service of Ayurveda and mankind…

                                                                                                    Dr. P. R. Krishnakumar
                                                                                                            Managing Trustee
                                                                                                        The Ayurvedic Trust
                                                                                                                     Coimbatore

ROLE OF THE PATIENT

The patient should have faith in the Physician. Ayurveda gives the patient the right to enquire and go searching for a good physician – however once (s)he has identified the physician and decided to take his/her treatment, than the patient should have full faith in the capabilities of the physician and follow his/her instructions without demur or question or doubt.
Thus it would be very good if you could just give total control to the physicians once you are admitted in our centre. This will make the task of the physicians easier and will also hasten the process of healing within you.
You may not be able to understand the meaning of some of the instructions or treatments or restrictions. Please don’t worry. By the end of the course of treatment, you will be able to understand things better. Some of this cannot be understood clearly by mere verbal explanations and so, it is better to be patient and just obey the physicians.
Please remember that our physicians here are trained and recognized physicians by the Government of India and some of them have several years of experience in this field. During your stay here, they are as responsible for your health as you are.
Once you have developed this faith in the physicians and their healing prowess, you should give them all the information possible to enable them to make an accurate diagnosis and prognosis and decide your treatment program.
Please don’t hold back any information from the physicians when they come to consult you. Even what you may consider as unimportant or immaterial may be of significance to them and so please answer all questions with due consideration.
Even if you have forgotten to give some information, please don’t worry – you can continue to give information through the period of your stay. However it will be better to give everything right at the beginning.
According to Ayurveda, the physician examines the patient by three means – darsana, sparsana and prasna – that means by observing, by touching and by asking questions.

By mere observation, the physician makes some recording.
Then by touching, feeling the pulse etc (s)he is continuing to gain understanding of you and your problem.
And finally by asking questions, and by information you volunteer, (s)he Is able to create a good picture of you and your problem (if any) and make the appropriate diagnosis and decide upon the treatment programs and medicines suited to you.
This process of darsana, sparsana and prasna will continue right through your stay in our hospital.

OUR APPROACH TO LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS AND ALLOPATHY

To enable proper documentation, and to enable you also to get an understanding of your problem in a language you understand, the physicians may recommend some investigative procedures like blood tests, X-rays etc. for which the hospital will make the necessary arrangements.
It may be required to repeat these investigations once or twice during the course of your stay. If the physicians feels the need for more tests, (s)he will inform you accordingly.
Though Ayurveda was also equipped to deal with certain emergency conditions, today conventional or western medicine has advanced to such an extent that this system is best suited to deal with emergency conditions presently.
Our institution believes that we should be able to give the best treatment in the interest of the patient and so, we also have an allopathic consultant attached to the hospital. He/she will be visiting you whenever necessary as advised by our physicians.
In case of occurrence of any condition which our physicians think needs immediate attention, the allopathic consultant will guide you and if necessary, we will make arrangements to take you to a nearby Allopathic hospital which is well equipped to deal with such conditions.
We do hope that you understand that this arrangement has been made in your best interest. Please note that such decisions are taken only to enable you to get the best treatment and enable fast recovery so that you can continue with the Ayurveda treatment after that.
It is best if you just leave the decision to the physicians and abide by what they say and we assure you that everything we do will be only in your interest. Your only responsibility to help healing, while you are here is to follow what the physicians say.

ACTUAL TREATMENT PROGRAMME

There are four important components to the treatment, which need to be borne in mind. All four are equally important parts of the treatment and you need to ensure that you follow all of them meticulously during your stay here.

Internal Medicines

After the physicians decide on your treatment program, they will decide on certain internal medicines and external treatments to be given to you.

The internal medicines are normally of the following types :

Medicated decoctions (or concentrated herbal teas) with herbal pills (sometimes) – kashayam with gulika
Herbal powders – choornam
Medicated ghee (clarified butter) – ghritham
Medicated lehyas (paste like substance) – lehyam
Self generated herbal wine – arishtam/asavam

Ayurveda considers that the entire plant, animal and mineral kingdom are sources of medicine. In other words, there is nothing in this world that is not medicine. However for practical purposes, we use generally only around 600 different herbs (and a few mineral and animal products where absolutely essential) and their combinations in the treatment of various diseases. It is from this vast selection that the physicians will decide what are the best medicines suited to you and your condition.
The texts specifically say that there is no fixed recipe or dose for a disease; both are determined on the basis of the disease, nature of alimentary tract of the patient, his/her strength and age, place and time. Thus as you may see, the treatment is for individual patient and not for the disease.

The internal medicines are normally given at the following times:

When there is no food in the stomach
At the commencement of a meal
In the middle of a meal
At the end of a meal
In between morsels
With each morsel
From time to time
Mixed with food
Both before and after food
At night (bedtime)

Of the above dosage timings, medicines are mostly given at the following times in our hospital:

On an empty stomach (early in the morning, between 5.30 and 6.00 am and in the evening, between 5.30 and 6.30 pm)
At the commencement of a meal
At the end of a meal
At night (bedtime)

Though these are the general dosage timings adopted for most patients, your individual dosage timings will be decided by the physicians who will inform you accordingly.

Please be sure to follow the given instructions regarding the intake of medicines carefully. This is especially for the medicine on empty stomach – you should ensure that you do not eat or drink anything for at least 90 minutes before and 60 minutes after the intake of the medicine. If need be, a little water can be taken after the medicine.
Some of the medicines may be bitter – please remember that it is medicine and take it with a smile and a prayer.

2. External Body Treatments

Normally a course of intensive treatment is for an average duration of around 5 weeks. For women, treatment is not done on the days of menstruation, and so the treatment may be extended for another 4 – 5 days.
The physicians will decide the treatment best suited to you based on your condition. They will also decide the time of the day when you will have your treatment – though you can let them know your choice, the final decision will depend on the availability of therapists for the specific time slot that you have chosen.
A typical course of intensive treatment would entail:
Abhyanga or simple oil application for the first 6-8 days
Intensive treatments like pizhichil, dhara, sirovasthi, navarakizhi etc. for the next 14 days
Abhyanga or simple oil application for the next 14 days
This may change however based on the need of the patient. Further, other treatments like vasthi or enema, vamana or emesis, virechana or purgation are also given based on the need of the patient as assessed by the consulting physicians.
All Ayurveda treatment programs have a preparatory phase, a main treatment phase and a post treatment or recuperative phase – all the three phases are equally important for the success of the treatment.
During this entire process, please remember to keep your physician informed of any changes that you feel in your system. There could be an aggravation of your problem or there could be an abatement of pain. There could also be the formation of a new problem. This is primarily because during the treatment we are actually aggravating the toxins in the body and bringing them into the alimentary canal from where they are sent out either naturally or in a forced manner. During this process of aggravation, there can be a manifestation of symptoms. Please don’t worry about it. Just inform your physicians who will do the needful if required. On many occasions, the manifested symptoms will disappear by themselves after a while – however you should keep your physicians informed.
If you desire to know more about the different treatments, please ask your physicians – they will explain the same in details to you.
Upto 6 therapists do some of the treatments simultaneously. You need not feel embarrassed by their presence. They are all very good and caring people and are there only to help you to get better. If you feel intimidated by any one of them or if you feel that some of them talk too much or not concentrating on their job, please do not hesitate to bring it to the notice of the physicians.
Your health is of primary concern to us and if the therapists are not concentrating on nursing you back to health, we will most certainly take necessary action – hence we reiterate that you should not hesitate to bring it to our notice.
Lastly one important point that needs to be mentioned here once again is that you should have full confidence in your physician’s ability to decide what is the best treatment for you and to just abide by it. If (s)he feels that you need an enema or a purgation, (s)he will certainly recommend the same for you. If (s)he feels that your problem can be treated by doing pizhichil or dhara that is what (s)he will recommend. Or if (s)he feels that you don’t need any external treatment and that you need only consume internal medicines, (s)he may ask you to take the treatment at home.

3. Diet

Food is an important part of the Ayurveda treatment process. But it is not as most of you understand in modern parlance. During the treatment especially, our emphasis is specifically on food that can be easily digested, as the digestive power is very low.
On coming into our hospital, you may kindly inform the physicians & dietician, the type of food you are accustomed to in terms of quality and quantity. Based on that, the physicians will formulate a diet for you, which will support the treatment program that you are to undergo.
However, we have also formulated a general diet, which is normally suitable (with small alterations) for almost all the patients undergoing treatment. This is a very simple diet, which can be easily digested, and which contains less spices, oil and salt.
We are aware that it is difficult for you to take bland and simple South Indian vegetarian food for a duration of 5-6 weeks.
However we request you to make the effort – as this food rests easy on your stomach, and especially during your intensive treatment when the digestive fire is weak, this food is normally easily digested.
If you find that you are unable to digest the food, please inform the physicians and they will make appropriate changes to your prescribed diet.
However you should take the effort to eat this food. We recommend it from the point of view of Ayurveda treatment. We feel that this is wholesome food, which will serve your body well during the treatment. All the requirements of the body will be served well with our food & the medicine also supplements the needs.
If you would like to take some food other than what is prescribed for you, please contact your physicians. By directly requesting the canteen, this food will not be served to you. The physicians have to approve it before it is served.
Please make sure that no food article is brought from outside the campus to the room
Many among you request us to give more salads and fruits/fruit juice. We must inform you that in Ayurveda, we do not normally recommend intake of raw vegetables and in fact, the texts specifically say that uncooked food should not be taken during the treatment. This is also the reason why even fruits are not regularly given, though if the patient insists we permit the intake of one fruit every day.
Please note that we serve only simply vegetarian food from our hospital canteen. We do not permit the intake of non-vegetarian food during the treatment.
Intake of alcohol and tobacco and narcotics is also strictly prohibited during the period of your stay in our hospital. We request you to co-operate with us for your own benefit.
We invite you to give recipes to the canteen, based on the dietary restrictions that we prescribe and with the consent of the physicians – we will be only pleased to prepare these recipes and serve to the patients.
Finally please remember that any food taken continuously from the same source over a long period of time will become tasteless. It is all primarily in the mind. If you are able to control your senses and make yourself aware of the need for this food in the treatment process, and say a prayer every time you take your food, you will find that the food tastes increasingly better.

4. Lifestyle / Rest

The Ayurveda texts say, “The patient who has undergone emesis and other purificatory therapies will be having weak body, strength and digestive fire. Hence (s)he should be taken care of with all efforts just like a young (just laid) egg or a vessel filled with oil (to its brim) protecting him/her from all hazards and risks.”
Towards the attainment of the above, the texts describe several restrictions which are detailed above –
1. Use of only warm water for all activities
2. Maintenance of celibacy
3. Taking complete rest
4. Using footwear all the time so that the feet do not come in direct contact with the bare ground
5. Not suppressing the natural urges of the body like passage of flatus, urine, bowel movements, sneezing, coughing etc.
6. Not engaging in exercise, walking etc
7. Not thinking too much or becoming too emotional
8. Not sitting for too long or staying in the same posture for too long
9. Not keeping a very low or a very high pillow under the head
10. Not exposing oneself to sun, cold, wind etc
11. Not speaking for too long or too loud
12. Not sleeping during the day
13. Minimising activities like reading, writing, watching television, engaging with the computer, mobile phone etc.
14. Going to bed early at night
15. Not travelling in vehicles
16. Not engaging with the senses or sensual desires
17. Not engaging in any kind of addictions/dependencies
This regimen is the same generally for all the therapies and also for all those who are afflicted with disease.
You can check with the physicians whether all of the above are applicable to you or whether some of them can be relaxed for you based on your condition.
The texts also clearly explain the reasons for each of the above regimen. In short, it may be understood that total physical and mental rest is what is advocated till the period of treatment is over (including an equal number of days after the treatment which is also considered as part of the treatment), and in the case of patients having some disease, till the disease has subsided.
Please understand that this advice is for your healing benefit only, and hence you may kindly do your best to follow all of this advice, or at least those that are insisted upon by the physicians for your specific condition.
The primary activity that we recommend during this period is listening to music or mantras or spiritual discourses, which create good vibrations and only support the healing process. If you need any help in this regard, please contact the hospital library or inform the Administration and they will arrange for the same.

SOME POINTS FOR THE COMPANIONS

We are aware that since the treatment is of very long duration, the people who come with the patient invariably get restless and bored.
However the companions have a very important role to play in the healing process. They have to keep up the patient’s morale, attend to all his/her needs, remain cheerful, have presence of mind, keep the physician informed of all changes within the patient, his/her likes and dislikes, problems (s)he is facing etc.
It is important for the companion not to let his/her own problems or boredom affect the patient or to discuss with the patient regarding such issues.
We understand that it is difficult for the companion to take the food given to the patient. Hence if (s)he so desires, he can go to the canteen and request for some special food that (s)he can take there itself. In the interest of the patient, please do not take such food to the room or discuss such food with the patient.
Please keep the patient happy and even if at times, the patient is angry or sad, it is duty of the companion to cheer up the patient and divert his attention from the cause if his/her emotion.
Thus the companion has a very important role to play in the recovery of the patient.
In some accommodations, we have provided television for the sake of the companion. However, please do not keep watching it all-day or long or keep it very loud and disturb the patient. Also please do not permit the patient to watch the television.
Try to spend as much time with the patient as possible so that (s)he does not get bored or depressed.

POST - SCRIPT

As you may notice, all the instructions given above are specifically meant to help the patient to derive maximum healing benefit from the treatment and from the duration of the stay in our hospital.
Our hospital has simple facilities and we are constantly trying to improve the quality of our services. However we are also very careful and ensure that none of this interferes with the actual treatment and that the patient does not suffer physically due to this.
For in Ayurveda, we believe that if there is appropriate internal hygiene, external pollution cannot effect the individual. Hence our whole aim is to create that internal purity by which external factors will no longer affect you.
Hence it is our request to you that small hygiene problems, mosquitoes etc do not unduly affect you. Though we are trying our best, there are certain practical difficulties due to which we are not able to keep away the mosquitoes.
But you can rest assured that in all these years of functioning, there has not been a single case of malaria in this hospital or a single case of infection through mosquito bite and the reason for this is the medicated oil and internal medicines that you are using during your stay here.
Hence though we request that you to take the necessary precautions and protect yourself, please don’t become stressed at any point of time during your stay here – this will certainly not help the treatment.
Please inform the physicians regarding any problems that you may have with regard to treatment, diet, hygiene or anything else, and they will certainly take care to ensure that your health is not affected due to lack of adequate attention to any of the above areas.

TEMPLE

You will also have noticed the presence of a temple in the hospital campus. This temple is primarily dedicated to Lord Dhanvantari, the God of Ayurveda and healing. In addition, other deities like Ganesha, Ayyappa, Devi, Shiva, Hanuman and the Navagrahas are also propitiated here.
The presence of the temple and the performance of the rituals, the chanting of incantations or mantras, the rhythmic drumbeats all add to the healing atmosphere on this campus. Just let go and allow yourself to all in tune with this atmosphere and you will immediately feel a big difference.
Though you are not allowed to move around during the main treatments, you can certainly visit the temple on the first few days and the last few days of your stay here. Further, the “Prasad” (Sandalwood paste and flowers) from the temple will be brought daily to your room every morning at around 10.00 am. If you do not receive it, please inform the reception and they will do the needful.

We may finally mention that we are here as instruments of Lord Dhanvantari, to look after you and to aid you in your recovery. We will all work together in the healing process. Please be a willing partner without any resistance whatsoever and most importantly keeping the mind calm and peaceful, and observe the changes that take place within you – you will certainly hasten the healing process within you.

WE WISH YOU ALL THE BEST IN THIS HEALING EXPERIENCE !

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