Unani

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===Regimental therapy===
 
===Regimental therapy===
 
====Bloodletting/Leeching====
 
====Bloodletting/Leeching====
Unfortunately, bloodletters haven't died off yet. Unani and [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] practitioners consider bloodletting (also known as venesection) to be a valid method of treating disease,<ref name=unani/> because it removes "excess" blood and supposedly restores the humoral balance.  Some sources also say it purifies the blood by letting "waste" drain out.<ref name=wellbeing>[http://completewellbeing.com/article/a-unanimous-choice/ The Unani approach to medicine]</ref> For serious or acute diseases, specific reflex points are punctured, in order to drain a few drops of blood.<ref name=doctors/> (Hey, [[Homeopathy|less is more]], right?)
+
Unfortunately, bloodletting hasn't died off yet. Unani and [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] practitioners consider bloodletting (also known as venesection) to be a valid method of treating disease,<ref name=unani/> because it removes "excess" blood and supposedly restores the humoral balance.  Some sources also say it purifies the blood by letting "waste" drain out.<ref name=wellbeing>[http://completewellbeing.com/article/a-unanimous-choice/ The Unani approach to medicine]</ref> For serious or acute diseases, specific reflex points are punctured, in order to drain a few drops of blood.<ref name=doctors/> (Hey, [[Homeopathy|less is more]], right?)
  
 
Unani bloodletting is claimed to be good for things like headaches, migraines, eczema, conjunctivitis, cataracts, asthma, angina (!), pneumonia, ulcers, tonsillitis and glaucoma.<ref name=articles/> Oddly enough, hypertension is not on the list. Venesection is also claimed to be useful for preventing disease in those with too much blood<ref name=fasd/> (since, you know, having too much blood is bad.) Unani bloodletting may use leeches;<ref name=unani/> leeching is claimed to be good for baldness and pneumonia.<ref name=wellbeing/><ref>[http://www.gyanunlimited.com/health/unani-therapy-ilaj-bil-tadbir-to-cure-diseases/883/ Unani Therapy (Ilaj-bil-Tadbir) to Cure Diseases]</ref>
 
Unani bloodletting is claimed to be good for things like headaches, migraines, eczema, conjunctivitis, cataracts, asthma, angina (!), pneumonia, ulcers, tonsillitis and glaucoma.<ref name=articles/> Oddly enough, hypertension is not on the list. Venesection is also claimed to be useful for preventing disease in those with too much blood<ref name=fasd/> (since, you know, having too much blood is bad.) Unani bloodletting may use leeches;<ref name=unani/> leeching is claimed to be good for baldness and pneumonia.<ref name=wellbeing/><ref>[http://www.gyanunlimited.com/health/unani-therapy-ilaj-bil-tadbir-to-cure-diseases/883/ Unani Therapy (Ilaj-bil-Tadbir) to Cure Diseases]</ref>

Revision as of 17:06, 12 April 2013

Not to be confused with umami and especially not with punani.


Against allopathy

Alternative medicine

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Alternative articles

Unani is a form of alternative medicine which is based on the belief that that the human body contains four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile),[1] and that imbalance of these four humors is the cause of disease. This concept originates from the theory of Four Humours imagined by the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. While this belief has no scientific basis, contemporary adherents still try to propagate these beliefs as science. Unani notably uses bloodletting to treat diseases by "balancing the humors".

Unani originated in ancient Greece and was later used in the Islamic empires of the Near East during the Middle Ages.[2]

Worryingly, Unani has quite a large infrastructure in south Asian countries such as India and Pakistan, because Avicenna was quite a fan of it. But he lived a thousand years ago and so had an excuse. In the present day, it is taught in government-recognized universities. It also has a limited presence in the Western world.[3][4]

Contents

Humors

The theory which underlines Unani considers the following to be relevant to health:[5][6][7]

  • The four elements: air, water, fire and earth.
  • The four humours: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Imbalance of these causes diseases.
  • The nine temperaments
  • The three faculties: natural, psychic, and vital
  • The Arwah/Pneum/Spirit (vital force)
  • The organs
  • The functions

Diagnosis

To determine the humoral balance of the body, Unani diagnosis includes pulse, urine, and stool analysis.[8]

Standard of care

It would appear Unani suffers from lack of a consistent standard of care. For example, one source claims bloodletting can be safely done during pregnancy (but contradicts itself on another page, which says it's risky and should only be done in specific cases); while another source says it's contraindicated.[9][10][11] Also, according to several Unani sites:[12][13][14]

Its colour, taste, viscosity, whether it has froth on its surface, if the bubbles formed are large, indicating balgham, or small, indicating safra are scrutinised. The stool is also examined in a similar way.

However, other sources make no reference to the taste of urine being relevant to Unani. It's possible that Unani practice varies widely from practitioner to practitioner (much like naturopathy is a hodge-podge made up of the individual naturopath's beliefs).

Treatments

Unani has a variety of ways to treat supposed humoral imbalances, one more ridiculous than the other. Treatments are part of one of four groups:[12]

  • Regimental therapy
  • Dietotherapy
  • Pharmacotherapy (meaning herbs and animals, not pure drugs)
  • Surgery

Regimental therapy

Bloodletting/Leeching

Unfortunately, bloodletting hasn't died off yet. Unani and Ayurvedic practitioners consider bloodletting (also known as venesection) to be a valid method of treating disease,[5] because it removes "excess" blood and supposedly restores the humoral balance. Some sources also say it purifies the blood by letting "waste" drain out.[15] For serious or acute diseases, specific reflex points are punctured, in order to drain a few drops of blood.[12] (Hey, less is more, right?)

Unani bloodletting is claimed to be good for things like headaches, migraines, eczema, conjunctivitis, cataracts, asthma, angina (!), pneumonia, ulcers, tonsillitis and glaucoma.[11] Oddly enough, hypertension is not on the list. Venesection is also claimed to be useful for preventing disease in those with too much blood[10] (since, you know, having too much blood is bad.) Unani bloodletting may use leeches;[5] leeching is claimed to be good for baldness and pneumonia.[15][16]

(To be fair, leeching and bloodletting are used in real medicine and are known to be effective for various conditions. But in medicine, they're used only in very specific situations, while Unani uses them for irrelevant and completely unrelated diseases.)

One CAM magazine has this to say:

Venesection is a general eliminant for humors. It removes excess of humors in the same proportion as is present in blood vessels. Venesection is carried out when there is excess of blood in the body and patient is either exposed to the risk of developing a disease or has actually developed one. In both cases, the idea is to remove the general excess of humors, or the abnormal humor of both.[9]

Unani is promoted in the important naturopathic (and American) Textbook of Natural Medicine.[17] So, bloodletting is actually a feasible naturopathic treatment in the U.S. In the 21st century.

Cauterization

Unani has two kinds of cauterization: external and imternal. The first is used for "necrotic and gangrenous tissues, pain management and varicose veins while the internal cauterization is indicated for mouth ulcers [and] anal fissures."[5]

Derivation

This involves using poultices and herbal plasters which "cause drawing of excess blood and heat the skin's surface, this causes skin rashes or blisters on the skin’s surface and toxins are expelled out of the body."

Cupping

Cupping is the practice of making a cup stick to the skin by using suction. One Unani resource says this can be done by "burning up an alcohol swab inside the cup or just by manual suction either by mouth or by a suction pump."[5] In Unani, cupping can be done together with bloodletting; this involves puncturing the skin before applying the cup. Cupping with bloodletting is used for "arthritis, skin diseases, pain management, female infertility, chronic migraines and hypertension management."[5]

Massage

There are five kinds of massage in Unani:

  • Hard massage. For muscle injury.
  • Soft massage. For depression and stress management.
  • Deobstruent massage. For fat reduction. (Note that fat reduction through massage is a myth.)[citation needed]
  • Cloth Massage. For vasodilatation.
  • Roller massage. This is just for making the patient feel good.

Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy involves giving the patient some herbal concoctions. These "drugs" are classed into one of four potency types: Hot, cold, wet, and moist.[5] Low-potency herbs are used first, and stronger ones are used as the disease gets worse.[5]

Dietotherapy

According to Unani, foods are broken down by the body's "heat".[18] When enzymes come into contact with food, the enzymes supposedly release heat which break it down. How nutritious a particular food is depends on various factors, including what season it is, the person's mood (or "temperament"), and how much of each humor it creates.[18] Some foods are forbidden, such as pork and scavengers like dogs, cats, vultures, snakes, and others;[18] this may be because Unani is predominantly a Muslim practice.[19][20][21]

Footnotes

Alternative medicine articles on RationalWiki
Acupuncture - Aromatherapy - Apitherapy - Autism and pseudoscience - Bloodletting/Leeching - Chelation therapy - Chiropractic - Cleanse - Colloidal silver - Colonic - Color therapy - DMSO - Dynamiclear - Ear candling - Faith healing - Fasting - Folk remedy - Geier family - Hair analysis - Health freedom - Heel (company) - Herbal supplement - Heroic medicine (Humorism) - Homeopathy - Kombucha - Laetrile - Lupron therapy - Macrobiotics - Magnetic therapy - Medical marijuana - National Health Federation - Narconon - Oil pulling - Oxygen therapy - Q-Ray - Reflexology - Reiki - Rolfing - Shark cartilage - Shiitake mushroom - Tetrasil - Therapeutic touch - Trepanation - Unani

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