JAUNDICE - REMEDIES

JAUNDICE - REMEDIES

Yellow discoloration of the skin, sclera and mucous membranes due to an underlying liver disorder, which leads to an accumulation of bile products in the body resulting in an increased bilirubin concentration in the body fluids, is termed as 'jaundice'. It is detectable clinically when the plasma bilirubin exceeds 50 Umol/l. The diseases that lead to this condition are any obstruction (calculi, stricture or tumor) in the bile duct, viral or autoimmune hepatitis, hemolytic anemia, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, typhoid, malaria, yellow fever, alcohol, carcinoma of the pancreatic or the bile duct or some toxic drugs that the liver cannot metabolize and thus results in damage to the liver tissue and thus circulation of the bile pigments in the blood and their deposition in certain parts of the body. The symptoms of jaundice are extreme weakness, pallor, headache, fever, loss of appetite, severe constipation or pale stools, nausea and yellow discoloration of eyes, tongue, skin and urine. The patient may occasionally feel a dull pain in the liver region. 

HOME REMEDIES
1. Avoid taking alcohol, curd, tobacco, caffeine and high-protein and fatty rich foods like cheese, meat, fish or eggs and start taking starch in the diet. Avoid taking food items that are sour or pungent in taste. Salt should be taken in limited quantity. Take in more of bitter vegetables.

2. Apples, dry grapes, pomegranate, carrots, citrus fruits, collard and turnip greens, parsley and fresh leafy greens, red beets and their tops, strawberries and tomatoes are beneficial for the liver and so should be taken liberally.

3. Taken in more of orange juice, fresh sugarcane juice with some ginger juice, and buttermilk that help to increase the urination and thus help in the elimination of bile pigments that are excessive in the blood.

4. Juice of bitter gourd (karela) or radish leaves is also useful for flushing out the toxins.

5. Drinking a glass of fresh carrot and tomato juice mixed with a pinch of salt and pepper, taken daily early in the morning is also beneficial.

6. Drinking the juice of half a lemon in a cup of hot water each morning and evening improves the liver function.

7. Raw papaya fruit if taken after boiling it with rice proves to be very useful for jaundice.

8. Vegetable and meat soups are useful when given to the patient.

9.  Ripe plantains are useful.

10.Ginger with milk or jaggery (gur) is given thrice daily.

11. One cup of barley water boiled in three liters of water and simmered for three hours should be drunk several times daily.

12. Soak five small cardamoms (elaichi), eight kernels of almonds and two dried dates overnight in water. Remove the outer coating of almonds and the inner seeds of the dried dates the next morning and then make it into a paste, which should be mixed with some sugar and butter and licked.

13. Take seeds from fresh sweet pomegranate (anar) and keep them in an iron pot overnight in open air. In the morning add a little rock sugar candy powder and dissolve and drink.