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Saturday 21 February 2015

Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment for Acute intermittent Porphyria (AIP)

Acute intermittent Porphyria (AIP) is an acute manifestation of a metabolic medical disorder which is part of a group of inherited disorders.  AIP results from accumulation of porphyrins in the body due to deficiency of certain enzymes which are responsible for conversion of porphyrins into heme.  Heme is usually present in all the body tissues, but is mostly found in red blood cells, bone marrow and the liver.  The acute presentation causes symptoms like severe pain in abdomen, constipation, vomiting, muscular pain, convulsions, tingling and weakness, confusion, hallucinations, high blood pressure, and tachycardia.  The skin can also be affected, causing symptoms like itching and rash.

The modern management of AIP consists of hospital admission, intravenous glucose, and hematin tablets, if available.  There is no medication in the modern system of medicine to prevent or cure this problem.  Simple Ayurvedic medicines can be used to control as well as reduce symptoms like abdominal pain and vomiting, and thereby prevent or reduce the need for hospital admission.  Regular use of Ayurvedic medicines based on the Ayurvedic interpretation of the disease can gradually control all symptoms and help the disease go into a complete remission.

After an initial phase of treatment for about six months, most patients affected with AIP can manage very well on their own without the need for multiple medications.  AIP can be precipitated by medications, fasting, smoking, infections, surgery, stress, menstrual hormones, excessive use of alcohol, and exposure to the sun.  It is therefore very important to avoid all aggravating factors and adopt suitable lifestyle modifications.


It is heartening to note that AIP can be very systematically treated and controlled with the help of Ayurvedic medicines, using Ayurvedic principles of treatment.

The writer, Dr. A. A. Mundewadi, is available as an online Ayurvedic Consultant at https://www.mundewadiayurvedicclinic.com and http://www.ayurvedaphysician.com