In Ayurveda, people are divided into two groups who are eligible for treatments. One is the group of healthy people for whom treatments are done for rejuvenation and relaxation and to prevent diseases. The other group consists of people who are ill and undergo treatments for their illnesses. The doctor after consultation with you decides about the group to which you belong and decides on the kind of treatments.

In Ayurvedic system of medicine, there are so many methods of examining the patient. Combining all these methods your doctor can reach final diagnosis in terms of dosha imbalance. Apart from these methods, our doctors make use of the modern diagnostic techniques like blood and urine tests, X-rays, Scans etc.

Should I continue my normal (modern) medications or should I stop them ?

You can discuss with the doctor during the consultation about your current medication. He or she will give you proper guiding about that.

Am I on a special diet ? What is allowed and not allowed ?

After your initial consultation with the doctor our dietitian will meet you. You can discuss with the dietitian about your food habits. The dietitian will prepare a diet chart for you according to your condition, bodily needs and the season. During some special treatments there will be rigid restrictions of the diet and routine, but generally your food should be balanced with less oil and spices and with lots of vegetable and fruit.

For some specific treatments there are very strict restrictions about going out in the wind, sun etc. Even walking outside the room may not be allowed in such cases.

For other treatments also it is better to avoid wind, sunlight, swimming etc.

What are the liquids/powders/pastes given to me as internal medicines? Can I know more about them?

After consultation, your doctors will prescribe the medicines and treatments. You will receive details about the medications including time for its use.

What is meant by Prakruti or Constitution? What is its significance? What is my Prakruti?

Prakruti, a concept in Ayurveda, means psycho-physical constitution of one's body. It is a genetically determined factor which can't be changed from birth to death. This can be determined by some questions about one's physical, mental and spiritual aspects. Your doctor will make such investigations during the consultation. You could ask the doctor about it during your meetings with him or her.

The knowledge about your Prakruthi is a factor that influences the doctor's decision about the treatments and medications assigned to you.

What is meant by Panchakarma? Is it done for me?

Panchakarma means five fold cleansing processes of the body. Ayurveda is the only system of medicine which is giving prime importance to the cleansing and detoxification of the body. These processes are very affective and powerful. They should be done under proper medical supervision and the restrictions should be followed strictly. Otherwise it may cause some serious side affects. Panchakarma includes:

1. Vamanam – Medically induced vomiting
2. Virechanam – medically induced purgation
3. Nasyam – application of medicine through nostrils
4. Kashayavasthy – enema with decoction
5. Snehavasthy – enema with oil

Each one of them will be preceded by appropriate preparatory processes like snehapanam or massages etc.

There is no rule that all the five processes should be done to a person. So the physician decides about which processes should be done to an individual.

What is pulse diagnosis? What is its significance?

Pulse diagnosis is a method of diagnosis used by traditional Chinese doctors. There is no method in Ayurveda, to know a person completely by checking his pulse alone. Character of the pulse of a person is important in Ayurveda only as one of the diagnostic criteria.

Do the modern concepts of medicine/diet etc. agree with the Ayurvedic concepts?

All the modern concepts about medicine/diet in modern medicine are not in agreement with Ayurvedic concepts, because, being two different systems of medicine, both the systems have concepts that differ from one another. Some concepts are the same in both systems but explained differently.