Many such indications do not prove instantly fatal but bring on death in course of time, just as diseases, supposed by some to be due to the influence of malignant planets, take time before they become patent out of their incubative stages. An attempt to cure a doomed patient is only repaid by failure and the ridicule of the world, and hence an intelligent physician should make it worth his while to carefully observe and study these fatal indications. A contrariety of the natural smell, colour, taste, (sensation, sound, touch, etc.) of an ulcer indicates a near and fatal termination of the disease.
An ulcer emits a pungent, sharp, or fishy smell under the respective influences of the deranged Vayu, Pittam and Kapham. An ulcer, deranged by the action of the vitiated blood, emits a smell like that of iron (Loha-gandhi), while one, originated through the concerted action of the deranged humours, emits a smell characterised by the distinctive features of each of them. On the other hand, an ulcer, due to the joint action (of the deranged Vayu and Pittam), emits a smell like that of fried paddy; one, due to the action of the deranged Vayu and Kapham, emits a smell like that of linseed oil; whereas one, brought about by the action of the deranged Pittam and Kapham, smells like sesamum oil. All those odours, marked by a somewhat fishy character, should be deemed the natural odours of ulcers, and any other smell should be held as a contrary or unnatural one.
