A study on Tailabindu pariksha-An ancient Ayurvedic method of urine examination as a diagnostic and prognostic tool

Abstract

Indian traditional medicine, Ayurveda has a great history. Researchers in India have tried to corroborate ancient wisdom with the modern scientific practices. Tailabindu pariksha is a diagnostic tool of urine examination developed by the medieval Ayurvedic scholars, and also throws a light on the prognosis of the disease condition. This study aims at using this ancient wisdom to diagnose the medical conditions and to study about their prognosis, and studying about how it can be applied to modern medical practice and its limitations. For the purpose of the study, 30 volunteers were divided into 3 groups. Group I consisting of healthy volunteers, group II of those patients who suffer from curable conditions and group III consisting of patients suffering from chronic diseases which can be regarded as incurable. The urine collection, oil drop instillation and evaluation, were all done according to the guidelines laid down in Ayurvedic practices. Upon the evaluation of the color, appearance, consistency and pattern of oil drop spreading in different patients of different groups, it could be seen that the data could be correlated to what has been provided in the literature in majority of the cases. In today's modern medical practices, there is a plethora of urine diagnostic examinations available. These act as an added financial burden to the patients. In the midst of this, making use of Tailabindu pariksha for urine examination, will not only prove economical, but also is a time-tested and scientifically proven method. More in-depth studies on larger groups of patients, suffering from various diseases need to be done to standardize the procedure and make it scientifically more acceptable.

Towards Standardization–A New Protocol for Oil drop test (Neikuri) in Healthy Subjects

“…[3,4] One study explained the physiological basis of the ODT based on the mechanism of oil spill on sea surface. [3] The authors explained by three stages.…”

“…[4,18] ODT is one of diagnostic as well as prognostic test under urine examination that has been followed very popularly till medieval period in India [4] for various diseases including diabetes mellitus [19] and cancer. [7] Even though ODT was widely used during ancient period, the interpretation of the test results was made based on the text books and personal experience.…”

“…In disease state, the oil spread shape is plough, tortoise and so on and their geometric description is irregular. [4] Direction of spread towards north, east or west is also an indicative of good prognosis. South, south east, south west, north east and North West are indicative of bad prognosis.…”

“…South, south east, south west, north east and North West are indicative of bad prognosis. [4] However, test protocol is not standardized across the globe. Lack of standardization, advancement of modern instrumentation facilities has caused the use of this test to be lost in the pages of time.…”

Tailabindupariksha of the urine

“…The recent publication on Tailabindupariksha of the urine described a new alternative laboratory investigation technique. [ 1 ] This classic approach for urine examination might be a good alternative but the important information is lacking. At least, there should be a standard study on the comparative study (linearity between classical and standard urinalysis), diagnostic property (sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and predictive values), and cost effectiveness.…”