Ayurvedic Herbal Treatment for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is also known as COPD or emphysema and is a disease causing permanent damage to the lungs, so that the contractile capacity of the lungs gets severely compromised, with affected individuals experiencing a progressively worsening difficulty in breathing. The symptoms of COPD include wheezing, breathlessness, large amounts of expectoration, and a feeling of tightness in the chest. This condition can cause considerable disability and is a leading cause of death. Cigarette smoking, prolonged irritation of the lungs due to air pollution, dust or environmental waste products, form the major causes for this condition. The modern management of this condition involves the use of medication to reduce breathlessness and lung secretions, control and treatment of infection, avoidance of lung irritants, cessation of smoking, and practicing breathing exercises like Pranayam and Yogasanas.

Ayurvedic herbal treatment for COPD involves the use of herbal medicines so as to treat and reduce or reverse the damage to the lungs, reduce symptoms, prevent recurrent infections, improve immunity of the mucosa of the respiratory tract, and improve the breathing capacity of the lungs. It is important to commence treatment at the earliest possible so that permanent lung damage can be avoided, and structural damage can be treated and possibly reversed. Early treatment can bring about a complete cure in affected individuals, thereby avoiding the serious morbidity and mortality which is usually associated with this condition.

Herbal medicines which have a specific action on the respiratory tract and the mucosa lining the lungs up to the terminal alveoli, have an important role to play in the management of COPD These medicines treat and cure chronic infection and inflammation, reduce the stagnation and excessive production of secretions, help the respiratory mucosa to recover and bring about a regeneration of the ciliary hair lining the mucosa. This helps to bring lung function to near-normal or optimum levels.

Herbal medicines also help the overall lung tissue to become healthy and resistant to pollution, infection and chronic irritation. Medicines can also be used to repair and heal the damage to the capillaries within the lungs which are situated adjoining the lung alveoli and which help conduct an exchange of gases from the lungs to the blood circulation. This treatment helps in proper exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the lungs.

Once the treatment aspect of COPD is carried out to the maximum extent possible, additional Ayurvedic treatment can be given in order to prevent recurrence of symptoms or further damage to the lungs. This treatment is known as Rasayan therapy and involves the use of different medicines in progressively increasing doses so as to provide maximum therapeutic benefit by not only improving the functioning of the lungs, but also providing improved resistance both for the lungs as well as for the whole body.

Depending upon the severity of the condition, individuals affected with COPD require treatment for six to nine months in order to benefit significantly from treatment. Ayurvedic herbal treatment thus has a significant role to play in the management and treatment of COPD.