Unani Opinion on Nephrolithiasis (Hisat-e- kulyah) and its Management

Shaikh Shoeb Mohd Abdul Rauf; Sumaiyya Abdul Karim Salar; Mohd Furqan Ahmad Patel; Taqdees Fatema Abdul Rauf Shaikh; Amjad Khan Salim Khan

Abstract

Nephrolithiasis is called Hisat-e-Kulyah in Unani system of medicine. Nephrolithiasis is a disease in which crystal aggregates are generally formed in the kidneys. It is one of the most common urinary tract abnormalities affecting approximately 15% of the population worldwide and approximately 2.3% of the population in India. Since historical times, Urolithiasis (Hisat-e-Bauliyah) or Hisat-e-Kulyah (Nephrolithiasis) has been treated by Unani doctors such as Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna, Razi, Ibn- e-Zohr and Majoosi through specific treatment methods. In the Unani system of medicine, the drug used for kidney calculus breaks up the stone and then removes it from the urinary system. According to Jaleenoos (Galen), renal stones are formed when rooh (gaseous matter) is trapped in the spaces of the kidney and consolidates to form hard substances. Another cause of renal calculi is ulceration of the kidney, in which pus accumulates and solidifies, thereby forming renal stones or at least establishing a nidus for the formation of stones. Avicenna contends that the persistence of “morbid matter” in the urinary tract is instrumental in the formation of ghaliz madda (viscid matter). Pharmacologically it can be solved with one or combination of two drugs. The aim of the present study was to describe and scientifically validate the Unani methods for the control of kidney calculi.

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