Abstract
Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional system of medicine practiced in the Indian subcontinent is considered to be devoid of adverse effects. We report three cases which highlight the possibility of adverse events with the use of ayurvedic products. A 35 years old woman with hepatitis took ayurvedic powders and had her liver injury worsen, possibly due to alkaloids, and developed nephrotic syndrome, possibly due to gold salt. A 57 years old hypertensive man was taking ayurvedic medicine containing reserpine which had long been withdrawn from the allopathic system of medicine due to wide range of side effects. A 47 years old woman with rheumatoid arthritis was taking an unknown tablet containing a steroid as an adulterant for 2 years and developed side effects typical of steroid excess. We like to highlight the fact that ayurvedic medicines do have propensity to cause adverse effects due to adulterations or inherent constituents like alkaloids, and hence are not completely safe.
Highlights
Ayurveda is one of the most renowned traditional systems of medicine, and has been widely practiced in the Indian subcontinent, including Nepal, since the 2nd century BC1
It has been proven that certain constituents of ayurvedic products, like heavy metals and alkaloids, can have adverse effects, and the possibility of these adverse events needs to be highlighted so that both the practitioners and consumers will become cautious in their use, as with allopathic medicines4,5
It was not clear in our patient whether the worsening was caused by the disease process itself or the use of ayurvedic products containing potentially harmful alkaloids, but we can at least say that these products were not helpful in dealing with her liver problem as is generally believed
Summary
Ayurveda is one of the most renowned traditional systems of medicine, and has been widely practiced in the Indian subcontinent, including Nepal, since the 2nd century BC1. Case 1 A 35 years old Newar woman from suburban Kathmandu who was a housewife, developed jaundice, vomiting and low grade fever Soon after we stopped the unlabeled medicine, she started to have more pain and swelling in the small joints of both hands and symptoms suggestive of steroid withdrawal were noted She was subsequently diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis based on clinical features and laboratory parameters: C- reactive protein- 25 mg/L (normal < 5 mg/L), Rheumatoid factor- 30 IU/mL (normal < 25 IU/mL). When last seen 3 months ago (October, 2018), her arthritis was well-controlled with DMARDs without steroid preparations or unlabeled medicines
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