SSANH provides the best ITP treatment which can completely cure ITP but before understanding the ayurvedic treatment of ITP, let us try to understand what is meant by ITP? 

ITP stands for Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura which is a rare blood-related disorder. Thrombocytopenia stands for a decrease in platelets in the blood, purpura stands for a condition of red or purple discoloured spots on the skin like bruises. Idiopathic is a term given by the medical fraternity to represent any disease that does not have any known cause or mechanism to understand its origin. 

The word Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura represents a condition that basically leads to the decrease in platelets causing purple or red coloured spots on the skin without any known cause of origin. However, in recent studies, it is believed that ITP is an auto-immune condition where the immune system of the body starts attacking the platelets resulting in Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura (the new name). 

Ayurveda classifies ITP under “Tiryaka Raktapitta”, a blood disorder mentioned in the classical ayurvedic texts. In “Tiryaka Raktapitta”,  all the three dosha of the body’s bloodstream; Vata, Pitta, and Kapha are vitiated resulting in the imbalance of the metabolism of the bloodstream or resulting the imbalance of the agni in the rakta dhatu. This imbalance affects the immune system and creates an error where the immune system of the body starts attacking one component of the blood: Platelets. 

The vitiation of the dosha will lead to some complications with time, symptoms observed in ITP patients are as follows:

• Small or large bruises on the body 
• Nose and gum bleeding
• Blood in the stool, urine, or vomit
• Excessive heavy menstrual flow or menstrual flow for a longer duration

External factors which can lead to the development of ITP can be: 

• Consumption of over-the-counter medicine without considering the side effects and prolonged usage of OTC medicines sometimes can cause problems like ITP on cross-reacting with platelets 
• Viral infections that lead to chickenpox, hepatitis C, and AIDS can prompt antibodies that cross-react with platelets 
• Pregnancy can alter immunity and sometimes lead to ITP
• Auto-Immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, etc 
• Low-grade lymphoma and leukemia 

Sometimes the cause of immune thrombocytopenic purpura is not known and, in such cases, it can be called Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura which is why the nomenclature has not been completely modified. 

1 month of in-patient treatment is started for the patients at SSANH, target of the ITP treatment is to deliver basic purification, purgation so that nourishment can be provided to spleen and other abdominal organs. In chronic cases of ITP, the Haemoglobin level is sometimes low or else if the patient is complaining of IBS, infection in the body etc., we need to take extra care in planning the treatment of ITP.

Post the in-patient ITP treatment, oral medications and lifestyle monitoring is done which can extend for about 2-3 years depending on chronic nature of the condition. The duration of in-patient treatment is also dependent on the comorbidity of the patient. ITP treatment at SSANH initially focuses on treating the associated condition and once the body responds in order to plan further treatment for ITP.  

Once the treatment is complete, the patient’s platelet count will be restored back to normal and they will not have any further complaints of comorbidity which they had while starting the treatment.

Usually, when the patient arrives at SSANH, they are already under medication for ITP which can be either steroid-based or IVGG/IVIG injection. We do not completely stop these medicines but we try to reduce their dosage gradually and shift the patient to ayurvedic herbal medicine for ITP. Therapies help with the detoxification hence minimizing the side effects from these steroid-based medicines and IVGG. Some therapies are given to improve the function of the abdominal organ especially the spleen, providing nutrition and neutralizing the immune response which is acting against the body. Oral medication and lifestyle changes are administered accordingly with the ultimate target of providing a complete cure through the ayurvedic treatment of ITP. 

Click here to read a case study about the ITP treatment at SSANH.

In modern medicine based ITP treatment, patients are administered with the two most common forms of immediate treatment; steroids and intravenous gamma globulin(IVG)

• Steroids: They prevent bleeding by reducing the rate of platelet destruction hence increasing the platelet counts which can be observed within 2 to 3 weeks. Side effects may include stomach irritation, weight gain, high blood pressure, and acne whereas long term side effects may include Liver failure, hear attack etc. 
• Intravenous gamma globulin (IVGG): It is a protein that contains antibodies and at the same time it also slows the destruction of platelets. IVGG shows improvement in platelets count within 24 to 48 hours. Side effects may include flushing, headache, malaise, fever, chills, fatigue and lethargy whereas its serious side effects include renal impairment, thrombosis, arrhythmia, aseptic meningitis, haemolytic anaemia, and transfusion-related acute lung injury. 

Ayurvedic external therapies such as Snehapana, Virechana are given, their side effects are limited to fatigue, vomiting, loose motion and loss of appetite for a few hours. Ayurvedic medicines such as Durwa, Amlaki, shatavari, ashwagandha, gokshura etc. have anticoagulation and antineoplastic property which helps patient in the recovery from ITP. Ayurvedic medicines for ITP treatment are completely natural, they do not have any serious side effects after long term use until and unless they are administered wrongly.

There are two forms of ITP

• Acute thrombocytopenic purpura: Acute ITP usually starts suddenly and disappears in less than 6 months with no requirement of treatment. Its symptoms may follow a viral illness, such as chickenpox or Hepatitis C etc. 
• Chronic thrombocytopenic purpura: The onset of the disorder can happen at any age, and the symptoms can last a minimum of 6 months, several years, or a lifetime. 

Diagnosing ITP is difficult because the patients in general are negligent towards their body and by the time, they start to observe the bruises or excessive bleeding the condition is already serious. Bleeding and bruising are a very common phenomenon but to notice the progress in such symptoms is a difficult task while coping with the current fast lifestyle. 

At SSANH we follow the process of exclusion where our main target is to narrow down the possible condition which explains the patients’ symptoms. We try to treat the possible condition first, based on the response of the prescribed medicine for 14 days, we decide the next line of ITP treatment. In order to find the possible causes: 

1. We try to rule out any blood abnormalities other than low platelet count
2. We try to rule out the possibility of leukaemia, medications, cirrhosis, HIV, hepatitis C etc. leading to the complaints mentioned by the patient.

Bone marrow examination is an option to confirm the possibility of ITP but based on the response of the medicine in the first 14 days we can confirm the possibility of ITP. In majority of the ITP cases so far, we never had to confirm the possibility of ITP as the patients came will all the necessary reports to confirm ITP such as CBC, ESR, LFT, KFT, Antiplatelet antibody tests and some with bone marrow examination as well.

Diet is the most important factor in the recovery of the ITP patient, until and unless the patient does not improve their food habits, their condition will not recover as planned by the doctor. There are a few things patients can do to speed up the recovery process such as :

1. Including ayurvedic herbs such as Giloy, Punarnava, Curcumin, aloe vera in your daily diet 
2. Adding whole grains in your daily diet and Vitamin K rich foods, it helps to improve blood clotting.
3. For some patients, papaya leaf may be very useful 
4. Eat more bitter and astringent tasting food such as pomegranate, Beetroot, Bitter gourd, pumpkin etc. 
5. Make sure to eat easily digestible, seasonal and fresh food 

Lifestyle habits which restrict the recovery from ITP should be avoided as such as: 

• Alcohol, Artificial juices, carbonated and sweetened drinks
• Processed, spicy, fried food
• Avoid Salty, pungent and sour tasting foods
• Avoid meat, milk and dairy products 

Note* Do not take general food items as medicine

If you are suffering from ITP and looking for treatment of ITP in Kerala then contact us with your reports at enquiry@ssanh.com