Page:Sushruta Samhita Vol 2.djvu/91

 CHAPTER V.

Now we shall discourse on the Nidanam of Kushtham (cutaneous affections in general). I.

Improper diet or conduct; especially ingestion of improper, unwholesome, indigestible, or incongenial food; physical exercise or sexual intercourse immediately after partaking of any oleaginous substance, or after vomiting; constant use of milk in combination with the meat of any domestic, aquatic or amphibious animal; a cold water bath after an exposure to heat; and repression of any natural urging for vomiting etc. are the factors which tend to derange and aggravate the fundamental principle of Vayu in a person. The enraged or aggravated Vayu, in combination with the agitated Pittam and Kapham, enters into the vessels or ducts (Sira), which transversely spread over the surface of the body. Thus the enraged Vayu deposits the Pittam and Kapham on the skin through the medium of their channels and spreads them over the entire surface of the body. The regions of the skin in which the aforesaid morbific diatheses are deposited become marked with circular rings or patches. The morbific diatheses (Doshas), thus lodged in the skin, continue to aggravate, and having been neglected at the outset, tend to enter into the deeper tissues and thus contaminate the fundamental principles (Dhatus) of the body. 2.

Premonitory Symptoms:—A roughness of the skin, sudden horripilation, an itching sensation in the surface of the body, excess or absence of perspiration, anaethesia of the parts, a black colour of the blood, and a rapid growth and expansion of any ulcer (appearing on the body) are the symptoms which mark the premonitory stages of Kushtham. 3.