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Medicinal smoking or dhumapana can be defined as inhaling smoke of medicines through the nose or the mouth. Smoke contains very minute dispersed particles of medicine, which are burnt. Smoke is hot, penetrating, increases pitta, antagonizes kapha and has a cleansing action on the air passages.
Nose, throat and chest are the seats of kapha. It antagonizes kapha in the nose, throat, eustachian tube, trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles, alveoli, interstitial tissues in the lungs, avlambka kapha and blood.
This procedure is followed after vamana karma and nasya
karma.
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The Virtues of Smoking
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In following conditions medicinal smoking is advised:
- Heaviness of the head;
- Headache;
- Rhinitis;
- Hemicrania;
- Ear-ache;
- Pain in the eyes;
- Cough;
- Hiccup;
- Dyspnoea;
- Throat-spasm;
- Weakness of the gums;
- Discharge from the ear, nose and eye due to morbid condition;
- Dentalgia (Tooth ache);
- Anorexia;
- Rigidity of jaw and neck;
- Pruritus;
- Worms;
- Pallor of the face;
- Mucoid discharge from the mouth;
- Tonsillar enlargement;
- Enlarged uvula;
- Alopecia;
- Greyness and falling of hair;
- Stupefaction of the mind and hypersomnia.
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Smoking helps in eliminating these diseases and helps in strengthening the hair, bones of the head and sense organs. The voice also becomes augmented. Those who resort to oral smoking will not be troubled even by severe vata and kapha disorders or from disorders affecting the supraclavicular part of the body or the head.
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The Eight Proper Times For Smoking
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Eight specific times are laid down for habitual smoking, because during these periods, the rise of vata and kapha is observed. They are as follows
- After taking bath;
- After tongue-scraping;
- After sneezing;
- After tooth cleansing;
- After use of eye-salve;
- At the end of sleep i.e. after getting up first thing in the
morning;
- After application of eye ointment;
- After cleansing of nasal canal.
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Thereby, the vata and kapha borne diseases affecting the supraclavicular parts of the body do not afflict the person. Smoking should be done thrice and in three puffs each time. A wise man should practice smoking twice a day. The unctuous smoke should be smoked once a day and the errhine smoke thrice or four times a day.
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The Contra-Indications Of Smoking |
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The following persons should not smoke:
- Person who has purged;
- One who has taken enema;
- One who is a hemothermic (a person having too much heat in his body);
- One who is feeling sad;
- One who is gravida i.e. pregnant;
- One who is fatigued or intoxicated;
- One suffering from chyme or pitta disorders ;
- One who has had a sleepless night;
- One who is suffering from fainting;
- One who is suffering from giddiness;
- One who is suffering from excessive thirst;
- One who is suffering from emaciation;
- One who has just taken wine, milk, unctuous beverage, honey
or curds;
- One afflicted with dehydration or anger;
- One who is suffering from dryness of the palate;
- One who is suffering from injury to the head;
- One who is suffering from anomalies of urinary secretion.
If a person smokes in these contra-indicated conditions out of wantonness, his complaints become dreadfully aggravated by the wrongful use of smoke.
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Science of Health
