"Kaas-series-2"- Understanding the etiopathogenesis of 'Vataja-kas' by Prof. Satyendra N. Ojha

The etiopathogenesis of vaataja kaasa-

(Acharya Charak, Acharya Chakrapani , The Harrison , and me)

rūkṣa, śīta, kaṣāya, alpa, pramitānaśan, striyaḥ  vēgadhāraṇam, āyāsō are the triggering factors (pravartaka) for vātaj kāsa.
Rūkṣata brings dryness in the tract or in other words reduce the mucosal secretion (kaphaṁ śuṣkaṁ), sita and kashaya rasa are known to have constricting effect whereas alpa, pramitanasan and stri atisevan causes reduce nutrition of the dhatu. 
Vegadharan especially adhovega i.e mala, mutra, purisa and apan vata helps the apan vayu to get udan bhav apanna as upward movement of apan vata takes place i.e. diaphragmatic movement is increased as discussed above. 
Further excessive exercise increases the breathing rate and also has impact on the ciliary movement of the respiratory tract.

All the respiratory passages, from the nose to the terminal bronchioles, are kept moist by a layer of mucus that coats the entire surface.

The mucus is secreted partly by individual mucous goblet cells in the epithelial lining of the passages and partly by small submucosal glands. In addition to keeping the surfaces moist, the mucus traps small particles out of the inspired air and keeps most of these from ever reaching the alveoli. 

The mucus itself is removed from the passages in the following manner. The entire surface of the respiratory passages, both in the nose and in the lower passages down as far as the terminal bronchioles, is lined with ciliated epithelium, with about 200 cilia on each epithelial cell. These cilia beat continually at a rate of 10 to 20 times per second and the direction of their “power stroke” is always toward the pharynx. That is, the cilia in the lungs beat upward, whereas those in the nose beat downward. This continual beating causes the coat of mucus to flow slowly, at a velocity of a few millimeters per minute, toward the pharynx. Then the mucus and its entrapped particles are either swallowed or coughed to the exterior. 
In vataj kasa the repeated exposures of triggering factors either disturbs the cilliary movement or reduces the mucosal secretion causing the respiratory tract to continuous exposure to irritants. Thus a protective mechanism of cough is initiated in the form of cough but when it continues for a long time it is considered as a disease. This holds true for the phenomenon of allergic cough. 

Due to reduce mucosal secretion either there is dry cough (śuṣka kāsa) or after repeated coughing little mucus is removed with difficulty (kr̥cchrānmuktvā'lpatāṁ vrajēt).

Several substances formed in the lungs themselves often quite active in causing bronchiolar constriction. Two of the most important of these are histamine and slow reactive substance of anaphylaxis. Both of these are released in the lung tissues by mast cells during allergic reactions, especially those caused by pollen in the air. Therefore, they play key roles in causing the airway obstruction that occurs in allergic asthma; this is especially true of the slow reactive substance of anaphylaxis.

The same irritants that cause parasympathetic constrictor reflexes of the airways—smoke, dust, sulfur dioxide, and some of the acidic elements in smog—often act directly on the lung tissues to initiate local, non nervous reactions that cause obstructive constriction of the airways.

[05/08 19:44] satyendra ojha sir: 

ww.merriam-webster.com › dictionary

Medical Definition of smog. : 

A fog made heavier and darker by smoke and chemical fumes; also : a photochemical haze caused by the action of solar ultraviolet radiation on atmosphere polluted with hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen especially from automobile exhaust.

[05/08 20:12] ‪+91 70102 87704‬: 

*Power stroke & ciliary movement* wsrt nasal and lungs..

*KrchrAnmuktva alpatvam* explanation

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Prof. Satyendra Narayan Ojha  

MD PhD

(Kayachikitsa)
Director

Yashwant Ayu. College & P.G.Training&Research Center 

Kodoli, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India.

Mobile No.- +91 9822177155     

email: drsnojha@rediffmail.com