Author: Dr. Vikram Chauhan

ABSTRACT

What is a joint, a junction where two or more bones meet together. These can be rigid such as joints between skull bones, and movable like knee or shoulder joints. Many joints consist of cartilages at the part of the bone where the joint formed. If the cartilages are healthy it assists in gliding the bones smoothly over each other. They also prevent the bones from friction while movement which is the main reason of degradation of the bones. So if the joints are healthy you will be able to freely walk, run, jump and do all other daily activities without any difficulty. For some reasons if your bones are affected then it may restrict your day to day activities too. Also there are a lot of joint diseases which affect the quality of life of the person, among which one is Adults Still’s Syndrome. About this condition we will study in this article along with its Ayurvedic perspective and management.

INTRODUCTION

Autoimmune conditions are the conditions in which a person’s immune system kills or attacks its own body tissues. The role of the immune system is to guard the whole body but what if instead of guardian it starts killing the body cells. There are a lot of such conditions and all those conditions affect the quality of life of the person to a great extent. One such condition is Adults Still’s Disease which is a rare autoimmune condition of the joints. This condition includes characteristic features such as rashes, fever and joint pain. This condition persists in episodes, some may have one or some have more than one episode. This condition associates with the inflammatory changes which if persisted longer may damage the affected joints and most commonly the wrist joints. This is a brief introductory part about the disease and now we are going to discuss some more about this condition in the further article.

SOME QUICK FACTS ABOUT ADULT STILL’S DISEASE

Following are some facts to know about Adult Still’s Disease before reading further article:

• It is an autoimmune condition of the joints which is the inflammatory type of arthritis.
• The condition is hard to diagnose.
• It affects the internal organs.
• If not treated the complications may be life threatening.
• It affects 0.4 cases among 100,000 adults
• This condition occurs in children also which is known as systemic onset juvenile inflammatory arthritis.
• Its episodes affect more between the ages from 15 to 25 and between 36 to 46.
• Both the sex are equally at the risk of occuring this condition.

CAUSES OF ADULT STILL’S DISEASE

This condition has no such relevant cause, it is considered as an idiopathic condition which means the condition without any known cause. This condition may be triggered by infections which majorly involve microbes like fungi, bacteria, or yeast. Some researchers mentioned that the condition is autoimmune and till now no theory is considered relevant for the cause of Adult Still’s Disease.

SYMPTOMS OF ADULT STILL’S DISEASE

Adult Still’s Disease produce systemic symptoms which may cause in both adults and children, among which following are the most common symptoms

• Fever: In this condition fever occurs daily upto 102 degrees which may last upto a week or more than a week. Hikes of fever most of the times occur in early evening and afternoon and for 1 or 2 times a day and in between the temperature comes down to normal.
• Rashes: After fever a rash may occur which appears to be of salmon colour. These rashes appear on the arms, trunk or legs.
• Sore throat: In adults this symptom seems to be the earliest sign. Along with sore throat a person may experience swollen and tender lymph nodes in the region of the neck.
• Inflamed joints: Inflammation starts occurring in the joints and the person may experience pain and stiffness too. Most commonly joints involved are wrist joint and knee joint.
• Muscle pain: This may affect the daily activities and reduce the quality of life of the person.

DIAGNOSIS OF ADULT STILL’S DISEASE

There is no single test which can diagnose the same condition, the physician may suggest multiple tests for confirming the diagnosis. Both types of diagnostic techniques have to be done like blood tests assist to rule out other similar conditions and imaging tests help in revealing damage due to the disease. Certain diagnostic tests to confirm its diagnosis includes the following.

• Antinuclear antibody test
• CT Scan
• C-reactive protein test
• Ferritin test
• Echocardiogram
• ESR
• X-Ray
• Ultrasound

AYURVEDIC VIEW OF ADULT STILL’S DISEASE

As this condition is an autoimmune condition so as per Ayurveda we can correlate the same with aam dosha janya vikara. Now let us know what is ama dosha? Main role of producing ama dosha is mandagni which means a low digestive fire. Mandagni leads to the formation of undigested food which gets logged into various channels of the body that is known as Ama dosha.

Causes of Ama dosha

Dietary causes

• Starvation, intake of food even over indigestion, excessive eating, etc.

Lifestyle causes

• suppression of natural urges, sleeping in the day time, laziness.

Symptoms of Ama dosha

Stasis of fecal matter, fatigue, stiffness, fainting, vertigo, indigestion, anorexia, thirst, tenesmus, nausea, vomiting, fever and various other depending upon the lodgement of ama dosha in particular channels of the body.

Specification of Ama Dosha in Adults Still’s Syndrome

As we studied ama dosha in general and its symptoms appearing all over the body. But we can give a specific name to this condition that is saam asthija pradoshaj vikara. In this condition there is the accumulation of ama dosha in the channels nourishing the asthi dhatu (bones and joints).

Symptoms of saam asthija pradoshaj vikara are

• Increase in size of asthi, pain  in bones and joints, piercing in the bones, etc.

Common management protocol for Ama dosha in the body

It includes three steps that are langhan (fasting), langhan-pachan (fasting and digestive management) and the last one is dosha avsechan (elimination of dosha from the body). Now let’s see what will be the management option for this condition by Planet Ayurveda.

HERBAL REMEDIES BY PLANET AYURVEDA ADULT STILL’S DISEASE

Ayurveda is a holistic science which has been working with preventive and promotive purposes for more than 3000 years. Planet Ayurveda is a Company which formulates their own products as per the same aim of Ayurveda. The formulations prepared by Planet Ayurveda are GMP and ISO certified. All these formulations are devoid of any kind of added synthetic materials and preservatives so it has no side effects. Every person from child to old age can consume these remedies under the guidance of Ayurvedic practitioners. For managing the symptoms of Adults Still’s Disease and improving the quality of life of the patient Planet Ayurveda provides the following remedies. So let’s have a look at how these remedies are effective in managing the symptoms of Adult Still’s Disease.

1. YOGRAJ GUGGUL
2. BOSWELLIA CURCUMIN
3. PANCHTIKTAGHRIT GUGGUL
4. AMAR SUNDARI VATI
5. AAMVATANTAK CHURNA
6. MAHA RASNADI KWATH
   

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

1. YOGRAJ GUGGUL

Yograj Guggul is a classical Ayurvedic formulation used for bone and joint disorders since ancient times. The remedy is available in tablet form and consists of ingredients such as guggul (Commiphora mukul), mustak (Cyperus rotundus), pippali (Piper longum) and some others. This formulation assists in alleviating ama dosha from the body. It nourishes the bones and cartilages of the joints to maintain the daily activities. This formulation has very good analgesic properties which relieves the pain in the joints.

Dosage: 2 tablets twice daily with plain water after meals.

2. BOSWELLIA CURCUMIN

Boswellia Curcumin is a formulation prepared by Planet Ayurveda in capsule form. This formulation is made up of standardized extract of herbs such as shallaki (Boswellia serrata) and curcumin (Curcuma longa). This remedy consists of antioxidant and analgesic properties. The antioxidant properties assist in eliminating lodgement of ama dosha from the body. The best analgesic protein assists in reducing the pain as well as it has hor potency which helps in reducing stiffness in the joints.

Dosage: 1 capsule twice daily with plain water after meals.

3. PANCHTIKTAGHRIT GUGGUL

Panchtiktaghrit Guggul is a classical ayurvedic formulation prepared by Planet Ayurveda as mentioned in the texts. This is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties since ancient times. As inflammatory changes are the main characteristic feature of this condition so use of this formulation is very best for alleviating the same. Also rashes occur in this condition which also get alleviated by panchtiktaghrit guggul by its antihistaminic properties.

Dosage: 2 tablets twice daily with plain water after meals.

4. AMAR SUNDARI VATI

Amar Sundri Vati is formulated by Planet Ayurveda as mentioned in classical Ayurvedic texts. This remedy consists of ingredients such as ginger (Zingiber officinale), Amalaki (Emblica officinalis), loha bhasma (calyx of iron) and various others. The formulation consists of hot potency that improves the digestive fire and helps in eliminating ama dosha from the body. It also has kapha and vata pacifying properties which are very beneficial for reducing inflammation, stiffness and pain in the joints.

Dosage: 2 tablets twice daily with plain water after meals.

5. AAMVATANTAK CHURNA

Aamvatantak Churna is a polyherbal powder formulated by Planet Ayurveda. This herbal powder consists of ingredients such as ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), methi (Trigonella foenum graecum), haridra (Curcuma longa). As the name suggests aamvatantak which means it assists in eliminating ama dosha from the body and pacifying vata dosha. By reducing ama and vata dosha this formulation is effective in reducing the symptoms of Adults Still’s Syndrome such as pain, inflammation, stiffness, fever, etc.

Dosage: ½ tsp twice daily with plain water after meals.

6. MAHA RASNADI KWATH

Maha Rasnadi Kwath is a classical Ayurvedic formulation prepared by Planet Ayurveda as per the texts. The formulation is in syrup form which consists of the ingredients such as bala (Sida cordifolia), errand (Ricinus communis) and some others. It is well known for its vata pacifying properties. As vata dosha is responsible for mandagni (low digestive fire) which is responsible for improper digestion and accumulation of ama dosha. So by pacifying vata dosha and improving the digestive fire this syrup assists in eliminating ama dsha from the body and reduces pain and stiffness very effectively.

Dosage: 2 tsp twice daily with plain water after meals.

CONCLUSION

Adults Still’s Disease which is a rare autoimmune condition of the joints. This condition includes characteristic features such as rashes, fever and joint pain. The cause of this condition is unknown so it is considered as an idiopathic disease. There is no one diagnostic technique which may assist in diagnosing the same condition and doctors may suggest the blood tests and various imaging tests too. As per Ayurveda this condition can be correlated to ama dosha as it is an autoimmune condition. Specifically it is considered as saam asthi pradoshaj vikara which means accumulation of ama dosha in the bone nourishing channels. So to manage this condition it is important to eliminate the ama dosha by promoting the digestive fire. For this Planet Ayurveda provides various remedies and you can consume these remedies without thinking of its side effects, as they are free from any kind of added preservatives and synthetic materials.