Epistaxis Health Dictionary

Epistaxis. Often Nature’s way of relieving high blood pressure.

Causes: high blood pressure, accident, anticoagulant drugs, infection, blood disorder. As many as fifty- four causes. Usually innocent, from ruptured small vessel on anterior part of the nasal septum. May be spontaneous in the elderly, in which case blood vessels may be strengthened by Nettle tea.

Teas. Marigold flowers, Ephedra, Nettles, Melilot, Yarrow, Shepherd’s Purse, Ladies Mantle, Tormentil. Decoction. Burdock root.

Tablets/capsules. Cranesbill. Goldenseal.

Powders. Alternatives. (1) Cinnamon. (2) Bayberry. (3) Cranesbill. Half a teaspoon in milk or honey. External. Instil juice of Houseleek into nostril. Soak cotton wool in Witch Hazel and plug nostril. Pound fresh Nettles to a pulp in pestal and mortar and instil the juice or pulp. Beth root powder. Artichoke. Soak cotton wool in Cider vinegar and plug nostril. Other astringents, as available. See: ASTRINGENTS. Cold compresses to back of neck. ... nosebleed

Buch.-Ham.

Synonym: F. infectoria auct. non- Willd.

F. viren Aiton.

Family: Moraceae.

Habitat: Plains and lower hills of India.

English: White Fig.

Ayurvedic: Plaksha, Karpari, Pitana, Parkati.

Siddha/Tamil: Kurugu, Itthi, Kallalnaram.

Action: Bark—decoction is used for washing ulcers, as a gargle in salivation; also used for menstrual disorders and leucorrhoea. Leaf— estrogenic. Plant— used in erysipelas, ulcer, epistaxis.

Fresh ripe fruit or powder of dried fruits is used to treat diabetes.

The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia ofIn- dia indicates the use of the fruit and stem bark in syncope, delirium and illusive and unstable state of mind. The stem bark of the plant yield acetates of long-chain alcohols, methyl- ricinolate, beta-sitosterol, lanosterol, caffeic acid, bergenin and sugars. The triterpenoids, lupeol and alpha- and beta-amyrin, are also present in the leaves. Flavonoids including sorbifolin and scutellarein derivatives, have been isolated from the leaves.

Dosage: Stem bark—50 g powder for decoction (API Vol. II); dried fruit—5-10 g. (API Vol. IV.) Leaf, root—10-20 g paste. (CCRAS.)... ficus lacor

(Linn.) Poit.

Family: Labiatae; Lamiaceae.

Habitat: Native to tropical America. Distributed throughout India.

Ayurvedic: Tumbaaka (provisional synonym).

Folk: Gangaa Tulasi, Vilaayati Tulasi, Bhunsari.

Action: Carminative, antispasmodic, antisoporific, antirheumatic, anticephalalgic, lactagogue. Used in catarrhal and uterine affections, parasitical cutaneous diseases, epistaxis.

The plant gave lupeol, lupeol acetate and friedelin, leaves and flowers gave campesterol and fucosterol; roots contained beta-sitosterol, oleanolic and alpha-peltoboykinolic acids.

The plant gave an essential oil containing l-sabinene. l-limonene and azulenic sesquiterpenes as major constituents. The oil inhibits the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, particularly, Staphylococcus aureus; also exhibits fungitoxicity.

Alcoholic extract (50%) of the whole plant exhibited hypoglycaemic and anticancer activity.... hyptis suaveolens

Linn.

Family: Gramineae; Poaceae.

Habitat: Cultivated all over India as a food crop.

English: Rice.

Ayurvedic: Shaali, Vrihidhaanya, Tandula, Nivara.

Unani: Biranj Saathi.

Action: Rice-water (a water decoction of rice)—demulcent and refrigerant in febrile and inflammatory diseases and in dysuria. Also used as a vehicle for compound preparations used for gynaecological disorders. It is regarded as cooling in haematemesis and epistaxis, and as diuretic.

The green clum or stalks—recommended in biliousness. Ash of the straw—used in the treatment of wounds and discharges. Lixiviated ash of straw is used as anthelmintic and in nausea.

The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia ofIn- dia recommends the dried root in dy- suria and lactic disorders.

The pigments occurring in coloured types of rice are a mixture of monogly- cosides of cyanidin and delphinidin. The dark Puttu Rice of India contains a diglycosidic anthocyanin.

Dosage: Root—50 g for decoction. (API, Vol. II.)... oryza sativa

a collection of symptoms resulting from an increase in the viscosity of blood. These symptoms include epistaxis (nosebleed), blurred vision, dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, confusion, and breathlessness. Hyperviscosity of the blood occurs in conditions such as polycythaemia, plasma-cell myeloma, leukaemia, and Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia.... hyperviscosity syndrome

a collection of capillaries in the mucosa at the anterior part of the nasal septum. Nosebleeds frequently have their origin from this plexus. See epistaxis; Little’s area. [W. Kiesselbach (1839–1902), German laryngologist]... kiesselbach’s plexus

the anterior region of the nasal septum (see nose). It has a rich capillary supply, called *Kiesselbach’s plexus, and is a common site from which nosebleeds arise. See epistaxis. [J. L. Little (1836–85), US surgeon]... little’s area

(SPA) a surgical procedure to identify and occlude the sphenopalatine artery in the nose using endoscopic surgery. It is used in the treatment of severe epistaxis (nosebleed).... sphenopalatine artery ligation

Punica granatum

Punicaceae

San: Dadimah;

Hin: Anar, Dhalim;

Ben: Dalim;

Tam: Madalai, Madalam;

Mal: Urumampazham, Matalam, Talimatala m, Matalanarakam; Kan :Dalimbe;

Tel: Dadima; Mar: Dalimba;

Guj: Dadam; Ass: Dalin

Importance: Pomegranate has long been esteemed as food and medicine and as a diet in convalescence after diarrhoea. The rind of the fruit is highly effective in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery, dyspepsia, colitis, piles and uterine disorders. The powdered drug boiled with buttermilk is an efficacious reme dy for infantile diarrohoea. The root and stem bark are good for tapeworm and for strengthening the gums. The flowers are useful in vomiting, vitiated conditions of pitta, ophthalmodynia, ulcers, pharyngodynia and hydrocele. An extract of the flowers is very specific for epistaxis. The fruits are useful in anaemia, hyperdipsia, pharyngodynia, ophthalmodynia, pectoral diseases, splenopathy, bronchitis and otalgia. The fruit rind is good for dysentery, diarrhoea and gastralgia. Seeds are good for scabies, hepatopathy and splenopathy. The important preparations using the drug are Dadimadighrtam, Dadimastaka churnam, Hinguvacadi churnam, Hingvadi gulika, etc (Sivarajan et al, 1994, Warrier et al, 1995).

Distribution: Pomegranate is a native of Iran, Afghanistan and Baluchistan. It is found growing wild in the warm valleys and outer hills of the Himalaya between 900m and 1800m altitude. It is cultivated throughout India, the largest area being in Maharastra.

Botany: Punica granatum Linn. belongs to the family Punicaceace. It is a large deciduous shrub up to 10m in height with smooth dark grey bark and often spinescent branchlets. Leaves are opposite, glabrous, minutely pellucid-punctuate, shining above and bright green beneath. Flowers are scarlet red or sometime yellow, mostly solitary, sometimes 2-4 held together. Stamens are numerous and inserted on the calyx below the petals at various levels. Fruits are globose, crowned by the persistent calyx. Rind is coriaceous and woody, interior septate with membraneous walls containing numerous seeds. Seeds are angular with red, pink or whitish, fleshy testa (Warrier et al, 1995).

Agrotechnology: Pomegranate is of deciduous nature in areas where winters are cold, but on the plains it is evergreen. A hot dry summer aids in the production of best fruits. Plants are grown from seeds as well as cuttings. Mature wood pieces cut into lengths of about 30cm are planted for rooting. The rooted plants are planted 4.5-6m apart. When planted close, they form a hedge which also yields fruits. Normal cultivation and irrigation practices are satisfactory for the pomegranate. An application of 30-45kg of FYM annually to each tree helps to produce superior quality fruits. The pomegranate may be trained as a tree with a single stem for 30-45cm or as a bush with 3 or 4 main stems. In either case suckers arising from the roots and similar growths from the trunk and main branches are removed once a year. Shortening of long slender branches and occasional thinning of branches should be done. The fruit has a tough rind and hence transportation loss is minimum (ICAR, 1966).

Properties and activity: Pomegranate fruit rind gives an ellagitannin named granatin B, punicalagin, punicalin and ellagic acid. Bark contains the alkaloids such as iso-pelletierine, pseudopelletierine, methyl isopelletierine, methyl pelletierine, pelletierine as well as iso-quercetin, friedelin, D- mannitol and estrone. Flowers give pelargonidin-3, 5-diglucoside apart from sitosterol, ursolic acid, maslinic acid, asiatic acid, sitosterol- -D-glucoside and gallic acid. Seeds give malvidin pentose glycoside. Rind gives pentose glycosides of malvidin and pentunidin. Fluoride, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and phosphate are also reported from fruits. Leaves give elligatannins-granatins A and B and punicafolin.

Rind of fruit is astringent, fruit is laxative. Bark of stem and root is anthelmintic, and febrifuge. Rind of fruit and bark of stem and root is antidiarrhoeal. Pericarp possesses antifertility effect. Fixed oil from seeds are antibacterial. Bark, fruit pulp, flower and leaf are antifungal. Aerial part is CNS depressant, diuretic and hypothermic. The flower buds of pomegranate in combination with other plants showed excellent response to the patients of Giardiasis (Mayer et al, 1977; Singhal et al, 1983).... pomegranate

an acute highly infectious disease usually caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, primarily affecting infants and often occurring in epidemics. After an incubation period of 1–2 weeks there is a catarrhal stage, in which the infant has signs of an upper respiratory tract infection; transmission is through droplet spread. This is followed by an irritating cough that gradually becomes paroxysmal within 1–2 weeks. The paroxysms are followed by a characteristic *whoop and vomiting. In the very young the classical whoop may not develop and instead the paroxysms may be followed by periods of *apnoea. The illness can last 2–3 months, giving it the name ‘the cough of 100 days’ in some countries. Infection can be complicated by bronchopneumonia, weight loss due to repeated vomiting, *bronchiectasis, and convulsions due to *asphyxia or bleeding into the brain tissue. Minor complications include subconjunctival haemorrhage, *epistaxis (nosebleed), facial *oedema, and ulceration of the tongue.

*Immunization against the infection was introduced in the UK in the 1950s and offers protection. An attack usually confers lifelong immunity. Despite good vaccine coverage resulting in the current low levels of disease, whooping cough is still a significant cause of illness and death in the very young. Medical name: pertussis.... whooping cough