Premonitory Symptoms:— Laboured or difficult breathing, a gone-feeling in the limbs and a sense of physical lassitude, secretion of mucus, dryness of the palate, vomiting, dulness of appetite, vertigo or fainting fits, nasal catarrh, cough, somnolence, whiteness of the eyes, desire for meat, and increased sexual propensities are the symptoms which mark the advent of the dreadful disease — Śosha. The patient dreams that he has been borne on the wings of a crow or a parrot or a vulture or a pea-cock or has been riding a porcupine or a lizard or a monkey or sees in dreams river-beds dried up and trees dried up or fanned by gales of wind or surrounded by flames or fumes of fire. 18.
Prognosis: — A gradual wasting of the body inspite of sufficient food, presence of Atisára (diarrhœa) and swelling of the abdomen and scrotum are the symptoms of a comsumptive patient who should be given up. The treatment, however, of a patient temperate in his habits and strictly conforming to the instructions of the physician and possessed of a good digestive fire and not much reduced in body may be taken in hand provided the disease be an acute one. 19-20.
Treatment: — The patient should be made first to use the medicated clarified butter prepared from the milk of a ewe or a she-goat and duly cooked with the drugs of the Sthirádi (Vidári-gandhádi) group and then mild emetics and purgatives. Intestinal injections after the manner of an Ásthápana Vasti should follow the preceding medicinal measures and head-purgative (Śiro-vireka) should be applied. The diet should then be given consisting of (cooked) wheat, barley Śáli-rice together with meat-essence. Constructive tonics or tissue-builders (Vrimhana) should be given to a patient with a good digestion and relieved of
