The human body is divided into seven major components.
- The elements (Arkan) are air, earth, fire, and water, followed by a temperature (Mizaj) such as hot and moist, cold and dry, and cold and moist.
- Humours (Akhlat) such as phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile secreted in the liver help in the digestion of food.
- Organs (Aaza) of a body infected by disease affect the well-being of the entire body.
- Spirits (Arwah or Ruh), a source of vitality, are a gaseous substance that helps in all metabolic activities of the body and the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
- There are three types of powers (Quwa):
- Natural power (Quwa Tabiyah) resides in the liver and has the powers of reproduction and metabolism.
- Psychic (Quwa Nafsaniyah), located inside the brain, refers to nervous and psychic power,
- Vital (Quwa Haywaniyah), located in the heart, is responsible for maintaining life and enabling all the organs to accept the effects of psychic power.
- Functions (Afaal) refer to the movements and functions of all body organs.
It is essential for a healthy body to live in a locality that has good and clean air, fresh food, a park or a garden nearby, and good facilities for regular exercise to keep the liver, heart, and muscles growing. Psychological factors like anger, sorrow, and happiness were also found to affect our well-being and health. Adequate sleep and a clean bowel keep our bodies away from diseases.
The health care, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases originated in Greece with Hippocrates and were known as Unani health care, which was introduced and spread in the eleventh century with the arrival of Arabs and Persians in India. The diagnosis of diseases in Unani treatment is carried out in three ways: an examination of the pulse (Nabz), urine (Baul), and stool (Baraz).
The unani way of treating various diseases follows four therapies.
- Regimental, known as Ilaj Bil Tadbir, includes venesection (fassad), cupping (Hajamat), exercise (Riyazat), steam baths (Hammam), leeching (Taleeque), and diathermy (Amal-e-kai).
- Diet is known as Ilaj Bil Giza, where patients are suggested to have a specific diet that has an impact on various diseases they are suffering from.
- Pharmacotherapy, also known as Ilaj Bil Dawa, is the treatment of disease with drugs that have natural ingredients with origins like herbs, minerals, or animals.
- Surgery Ilaj Bil Yad uses special techniques and instruments to treat the disease.
Unani diagnosis and treatment have shown significant recovery for diseases like AIDS/HIV, Diabetes (Insipidous/Mellitus),Erectile dysfunction, Piles, Skin, Kidney, Nephritics, Gallblader, PCOD, Hair, Liver, Leucorrhoea, Cardiovascular, blood pressure, Leucoderma, General weakness related ailments.
The unique strength of unani treatment for diseases and their medicines lies in their holistic approach, temperament-based prescription, and treatment of diseases. The path followed in treating the ailment is by assisting the natural recuperative power of the body to fight against the disease and thereby eradicate it from the body. Unani methods of treatment are considered the art or science of healing and aim to treat the body, mind, and soul.
