Unani

What is Unani?

Unani is a traditional system of maintaining health in a healing way, found in the literature of ancient Greek. Earlier it was explored by Galen and the Hippocrates, later on, it was refined by the Arab scholars and Avicenna a great Persian physician, through systemic studies and experiments and finally from the wisdom of South Asia and the Middle East, Unani came in existence. Greece (Unan) is known as the origin of Unani treatments and medication.

The Unani system of medication restores all the body’s normal processes with natural medicines without giving any unwanted effect. It is also known as Oriental, Greco-Arabs, Islamic, Arab medicines, and Unani Tibb but more famous as Unani.

In 1976 Unani got recognition from W.H.O and became internationally known, as a traditional system of medicine.

The principle of Unani Treatment

Hakims or Unani practitioners follow natural healing principles and harmonize the mind, body, and soul to rebuild overall health. Unani is based on maintaining the balance of four humors (Akhlaat), these are blood (dum), phlegm (balgham), yellow bile (safra), and black bile (sauda), so any kind of disbalance in humors is a sign of any disease or ailment. It is unique and varies from person to person; each person has particular humoral makeup.

The way of Unani Treatment

In Unani natural medication is used to boost the patient’s health and the balance is made to restore the sense of well-being if there is any involvement of external factors (food, water, and air) in the disease.

In this system Physicians or Hakims examine the rhythmic pulse rate or nubz to diagnose the disease or to know the humor in the patients at a particular time, then urine, blood, and stool test are done accordingly. Initially, a light dose of natural medication is given to control the disease and effect is noticed, dose variation and potency depends on the severity of the disease.

In Unani, tabiyat is a useful internal natural strength (immunity) believes to be very helpful in the cure and prevention of any illness, here natural medication works as outside assistance that gives complete therapeutic relief along with body’s natural defense system.

Type of Unani treatments

So far there are four types of treatment available in Unani:

Regimental therapy or Ilaj bil tadbeer:

It is used to treat various ailments and illnesses, it includes turkish bath (hammam) and sauna, massage (malish or dalak), venesection (fasd), cupping (hijama) and leeching (taleeq-e-alaq) therapy to detoxify, remove the impurities, and to increase the immunity or defense mechanism.

Dietotherapy or Ilaj bil ghiza:

It involves diet regulation (quality and quantity) according to the disease to alleviate the symptoms.

Pharmacotherapy or Ilaj bil dawa:

In this natural drugs (plant, mineral, animal) in the form of decoctions, jawarish, majoon, syrup tablets, capsules, etc. are suggested according to the temperament (hot, cold, dry, and moist).

Surgery or Jarahat

is the last option of all the treatments.

Although there are plenty of new treatments, medication, and technologies are available still, more and more people are choosing the Unani system and its gentle, safe and natural therapies to improve the quality of life. Hence, Unani is rapidly gaining acceptance and popularity due to its affinity with natural health.