Critical Review of Geriatric Care in Ayurveda With Special Reference to Jara

Abstract

Geriatric medicine is the specialized branch of medicine that deals with the problem of elderly persons. Increase in average life span due to enhanced medical facilities has resulted in demographic shift towards older age. Also, a lot has been stated in Ayurveda texts regarding longevity and vitality in terms of Jara chikitsa and Rasayan. This study was undertaken to critically review the Ayurveda texts and re-evaluate the concept of jara (ageing) and to analyse the various considerations and therapeutic interventions which have promotive, preventive and curative effect on diseases of old age. The three main texts of Ayurveda, i.e. Brihatryi were explored regarding the aspects of ageing and non-pharmacological as well as drug approaches were studied. Analyses of the texts revealed that the preventive aspects of ideal regimen, healthy dietary habits, use of Rasayana drugs and Panchkarma purification procedures, if adopted in daily routine can have a positive effect in improving vitality and longevity of the body. This also improves the quality of life especially in the elderly.

Perspective Chapter: Geriatric Care in Africa

“…Population aging is a worldwide phenomenon with economic and social consequences, and it follows a decline in both birth and death rates [5,[16][17][18][19][20]. Globally, there is an increase in the number of elderly persons who will require geriatric care [5,8,17,18,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. They make up a large number of the population in every country.…”

“…This is because old age comes with certain challenges, and chronic illnesses will become a major global public health challenge [19]. The increase in longevity is linked to the reduction in the death rate due to improved health systems and interventions [18,28,31].…”