Virechana is the purgative treatment. It cleans the digestive tract including small intestine, liver, gall bladder and pancreas. To eliminate pitta and other toxins, it works in a downward direction. Virechana eliminates harmful toxins from blood also. It treats many disorders like chronic headaches, urinary problems, skin diseases and allergies. Herbs and medication induces the purging process and cleans the entire system.
Virechana Therapy has several benefits like:
Virechana is done by purgative substances. These medicines help in smooth bowel movement and cleansing the gastrointestinal tract thoroughly.
Some of those substances are like Aloe vera, Bhumi, Amalaki, Salt, Cow’s urine, Mango juice, Triphala and castor oil. Other than these items, cow’s ghee, flax seeds and Raisins also plays a vital role in this treatment.
The whole procedure of Virechana treatment completes into three stages of pretreatment, treatment and post-treatment.
Preparatory therapy is of 5-7 days and includes oleation. It is done both internally and externally. The right time for administration of medicines for Virechana is early morning. The patient needs to abstain from physical activities and stress. The patient should analyze the following things for the doctor:
Transitions in the gastrointestinal tract by purgatives are as follows:
During treatment of Virechana, cold drinks, excessive exercise, sexual activity and cold baths are not advisable at all.
Patient need to take rest in a warm and cosy place.
Once procedure completes, patient should not take heavy food stuffs for 3 to 5 days. Because body needs time to restore, after the procedure. Once the procedure completes-
Here are the different Virechana sub types according to use of the medicines
It is a type of Virechana which helps in treating the symptoms of pitta prakopa. The symptoms include mouth ulcers, runny nose, skin lesions, and drowsiness & digestion problems.
Sadhyo means- immediate.
So this is the type of Virechana, which a physician chooses for quick removal of all the fecal materials inside your intestines. This subtype is for mild to moderate conditions.
Most of the times, this procedure is done just before starting some medicines. Because clear intestines help in better assimilation of the medicines.
In skin diseases and many other neurological diseases, it is important to keep the intestines clean. For that some “mild” medicines help in cleaning the bowel on regular basis.
Nitya is – daily.
So this subtype continues, regularly.
BUT this is not about using bad purgatives with Senna leaves. The products available in market in name of cleaning the intestines are not the same, what we use medically in Nitya Virechana.
The nitya virechana medicines are neither habit forming nor harmful for the intestinal mucosa.
Where we cannot remove all the doshas at a single time. It is important to do the Virechana again and again.
So this is the sub type where the procedure of Virechana continues on regular intervals.
It is one of the most effective techniques.
Purgatives eliminate excess Pitta from its site in the liver, gallbladder, and small intestine (it does not deal with the large intestine). The bitter purgatives like rhubarb, senna, or aloe also clean the liver and gallbladder decongest bile and remove obstructions to its flow. These herbs help in Pitta and liver disorders (e.g., gallstones). Because this cleansing weakens the digestive fire, therefore we cannot perform Virechana in Vata diseases. Kapha Doshas, however, benefit from this therapy, as they have excess bile, congestion, fat, or phlegm.
This is the simplest method of Panchakarma and has most easily observed effects. It is an excellent method to heal various conditions, including abdominal tumours, haemorrhoids, smallpox, patches of skin discoloration on the face, jaundice, chronic fevers, and enlarged abdomen.
Virechana karma is relatively easy and painless procedure comparative to Vamana.
Because passage of the virechana is natural, not opposite like Vamana. Therefore nn comparison to Virechana has less chances of complication.
It also helps constipation, old fevers, acute diarrheal, dysentery, food poisoning, kidney stones, boils, carbuncles, excess bile, or toxic blood conditions. For those who have not had Vamana, there are 3-5 or 7 days of snehapana, followed by 3 days of body oleation and sudation before beginning Virechana (purgation). If Virechana follows a Vamana therapy, then after the 7 days of proper diet (samsarjana), 2 days of regular meals are eaten. On the 9th day, snehapana (drinking ghee) is begun for 3 days. The following 3 days persons receives oil abhyanga and sudation for three additional days. On this 15th day (since starting samsarjana) Virechana is begun. If sudation (sweating) is contraindicated, then Virechana begins after the third day of snehapana (drinking ghee).
Virechana is not recommended for those people with recent fevers, poor digestion, bleeding diseases of a downward nature (e.g., haemorrhoids), ulcers, rectum ulcers, and diarrhoea. Nor is it recommended for those who have recently received a decoction enema, have hardened feces, suffer from TB, and are greatly lubricated. It is not used for the very young or very old, the weak, debilitated or emaciated, while pregnant, during or immediately before menstruation, or with prolapse of the stomach or uterus.