Category: The Yogic Shat Karma

The root cause of all diseases is one or the other kind of uncleanliness which breeds germs or bacteria. A Yoga Sadhaka i.e., a student of Yoga consequently starts with ‘Shaucha’ or cleanliness. Internal and external, physical and mental cleanliness comes under ‘Shaucha’.

Text books on Yoga lay down various practices for cleaning different parts of the body. But we are, however, concerned here with the cleanliness of the nose only. If the nose is kept clean and healthy a cold cannot successfully attack the person even inspite of the conditions of infection being present.

Any organ – teeth, eyes, ears, skin, bowels, etc. is liable to fall prey to a disease if not cleansed regularly. The teeth, eyes, skin and others fortunately receive our due attention in this direction, but the nose generally remains neglected, though it is the most important organ and on its health depends the well being not only of the lungs, ears and eyes but of the whole system. This is the organ through which we suck in the ‘Prana-Vayu’ i.e. life-breath. This should be invariably cleansed every morning along with the teeth.

Ordinarily, whatever dust is inhaled lodges on the mucous surface of the nasal canal and is pushed towards the outer orifice by the minute cilia which are in constant outward motion. Any microbes entering the nose are likewise expelled, and in addition to this mechanical expulsion, the nasal mucous which by nature is germicidal destroys a large number of bacteria. But with the amount of dust we inhale and the adulterated food and poisonous drinks we are daily swallowing, clogging of the whole physical mechanism in unavoidable. The nasal passage accordingly suffers from dust accumulation and stuffing. Handkerchiefs cannot remove all the dust and mucous accumulated from the long zigzag nasal passage, and the refuse begins to encrust.

Damp or cold air cannot by itself cause a cold. An indispensable factor in the catching of cold is the presence of germ infection and, whatever hardships or exposure we undergo, they will not result in an ordinary head cold provided the air is free from infective germs.

Investigators in the cause of science have exposed their naked bodies to direct draughts of freezing points, having first attained an over heated condition by violent exercise and yet, though the experiment was tried over prolonged periods the result which might have been expected, viz, a cold did not appear.

There is however, a way in which bad weather, conditions can play a more definite part in cold causation, and that are alternated with unhealthy atmosphere. If we get thoroughly chilled, with wet feet, and then go into confined surroundings and sit or remain in these conditions, we are in a fair way to catching a cold. This is because the blood is diverted from the cold extremities where the arteries are contracted, to the head, which tends to become relatively congested. This congestion, which is increased by the hot stagnant air surrounding the head causes the mucous membrane of the nose to become unhealthy and swollen, and lowers its resistance to the germs of infection which now surround it. If the feet were first warmed by a change of shoes and stockings and by brisk massage, the body would become more evenly heated, and though the atmosphere would still be an unfavourable one, less harm would result.

Entering a stuffy closed room from the fresh air of outside, similarly, causes a cold by adversly affecting the mucous membrane of the nose and lowering its power of resistance.

Now that we have seen how the body reacts to attack, we can understand the symptoms of common cold.

First there is discharge from the nose accompanied by feeling of stuffiness which is only temporarily relieved by blowing. This is caused by inflammation of the nasal mucous membrane in its response to germ invasion. In the early stages the ordinary inflammatory fluid appears, formed by lymph and white cells attacking the germs. As the membrane is on the surface this discharge flow freely down the nostrils. It is sticking because of the presence here of the characteristic mucous which, as we have seen, normally helps to protect the membrane against infection.

As the cold progresses, the discharge becomes thicker and may be yellow. When this happens the second stage of inflammation has reached and pus is present. The pus, too, can escape down the nostrils so that there will be no symptoms of abscess formation.

A complication of the cold may, however, occur if the sinuses or hollow air-chambers communicating with the nose become involved. Simple discharge forming in them drain freely through the nose, but when it becomes thicker, escape through the restricted communication becomes difficult and a painful abscess may form.

The stuffiness felt during a cold is due to swelling of nasal membrane and blockage due to the discharge. The inflammation also necessitates an increased blood supply to the area, and this contributes to the general feeling of congestion and may cause a red nose, which is a minor but disfiguring symptom.

First of all, the little blood-vessels or capillaries supplying the injured part dilate, and thus more blood is brought into the area. The next happening can be observed through a microscope and is very dramatic to watch. To understand it we must know that blood is composed of a fluid substance in which float two types of cells, the red and the white. The white cells, or leucocytes, are the fighting forces of the blood, and they are now brought into action. As we watch, the blood circulating in the dilated vessels begins to flow more slowly, and the leucocytes line up in ranks along the vessel walls. They next thrust themselves through these walls by active movements and descend on the invading germs. The battle now begins: the white warrior cells have the power to kill the germs by seizing and engulfing them. The germs however, have also a weapon of defence – they manufacture poisonous substances or “toxins” which kill the body tissues and cause heavy casualties among the soldier cells. In order to dilute these toxins and render them less harmful, a fluid called lymph, which ordinarily circulates in little accessory channels near the blood-vessels, is poured on the scene of action; lymph also contains “anti-toxins” to neutralize the germ-poison.

At this stage the defence may overcome the germs present; and the resulting debris, which consists of the dead germs, the tissue cells which have been destroyed by them and those of the white cells that have died during the struggle, will be removed from the scene. This is the work of the small lymph channels, which carry the debris to the nearest glands, where it is destroyed. Repair of the broken blood vessels and damaged tissues now starts by a multiplication of the healthy cells which surround the area, until the part once more assumes its normal appearance.

If the germs are victorious, the struggle will continue longer, and matter or pus will be formed. Pus is, as we know, yellow and thick in consistency, and when it is present we talk of the condition being septic. There is good reason for this, as pus is really a concentrated mass of germs and the cells which have been killed by them, most of the latter being of the white “fighting” type. When pus forms, the body cannot dispose of it as it does in the case of the simple inflammatory debris, but it succeeds, as a rule, in localizing it, and when this happens, under the skin a boil or abscess results. Localized pus always works towards the surface of the body so that it can escape by discharging; this in the case of a boil, may be a long, painful process, and recovery can be hastened and pain relieved by lancing.

The symptoms which cause so much discomfort, and perhaps in severe cases, pain in the course of a common cold, are essentially the effects of inflammation. Inflammation as whole is an interesting phenomenon and, in its particular relation to colds, its characteristics are well worth a little notice, in that it will help towards an understanding of what happens during a cold and how these symptoms may be alleviated.

Inflammation is the body’s reaction to injury. It occurs locally in the part injured, and also in the system as a whole, which as it were, adapts itself to assist as far as possible in helping the local reaction. Thus, if the local attack is severe the body temperature rises and the patient shows all the signs of a general illness.

Though inflammation may cause such uncomfortable symptoms that we look on it as an evil in itself at the time we should be helpless against attack if it did not occur. If, for example, a germ invasion of the body is very sudden and virulent, the patient may go downhill with very few signs of reaction and ultimately succumb to it. Or, again, if the patient’s power of resistance are low, the same result will occur; thus an attack of pneumonia in an old person may be quickly fatal, and there will be few signs of inflammatory response during the illness.

There are two types of diseases, first those which come by a disorder of functioning and the second which are the result of the invasion by outside agents. The outside agents are bacteria, or, as they are often called, germs, and the cold is a bacterial germ infection.

If a microscopical examination is made of the front part of the nose, it will be found, even in a healthy person, to contain numbers of bacteria of different varieties. Farther back in the interior of the nasal cavities, however, no bacteria will normally be found, owing to the cleansing and disinfecting power of the mucous lining. So we see that bacteria are always on the spot, but that in the ordinary way, that is in state of health, the nose can resist them. Why then, it may be asked, can we not sit back at our ease and leave everything to this protection mechanism?

To answer this we must imagine that two opposing force, the infecting agents or germs on the one hand and the protecting mechanism on the other, are in the balance against each other, and that a little weight added to or removed from either side of the scale may decide the issue between them.

One of the most distressing diseases resulting from cold is Asthma. Asthma is characterized by breathlessness due to spasm of the muscular walls of the air-tubes, accompanied by swelling of their mucous linings. An attack often comes at night and the sufferer wakes up “wheezing” and with a feeling of inability to breath.

The sufferer from hay fever is a pathetic spectacle, with streaming eyes and a profusely flowing nose, which no amount of mopping and blowing can check; indeed it only seems to aggravate the flow. Every now and then his conversation is interrupted by a shattering sneeze. He is not as a rule ill enough to go to bed and must carry on with his job under very tiring conditions.

Though true hay fever, as its name signifies, is always due to grass pollen, or less commonly to plant pollen, similar attacks of watery discharge from the nose can be provoked in persons with a sensitive nasal lining by breathing in various irritating substances – stone dust, coal dust, emanations from horses, dogs and other animals, or the perfumes of flowers may bring on an attack, or even in some instances, too much of face powder. House-hold dust has been known to cause a “running” nose and so too have road dust and the inhalation of tobacco dust. Exposure to bright sunlight or to a cold wind after leaving a warm room can aggravate matters when the lining of the nose is chronically congested and irritable.

These conditions are due to obstruction in nasal passages due to catarrh. When snoring has become a firm habit, the patient should practise ‘Pranayama’.

The trouble may be due to a permanent obstruction, such as provided by adenoids. In these cases, the adenoids must be treated by means of ‘Neti’ before any relief can be gained.

Adults who snore are generally found to sleep on their backs. They must be induced to change on one side. This can be done by banking up the clothes, at the sides, with a blanket, folded to provide a wall. They should also try a second pillow under the head.