Ayurvedic Medicine Dose Suggested By Doctor Defers From Dose On Label?

Many times the dose of Ayurvedic medicine suggested by your Ayurvedic doctor may differ from the dose that is mentioned on the label. It may confuse you but there might be several reasons why your Ayurvedic doctor has suggested a different dose. 

 Dosage suggested on the label – 
The dose mentioned on the label of Ayurvedic medicine is a guide for the patient, in case he has purchased the Ayurvedic medicine directly from a shop, without consulting an Ayurvedic practitioner.

Many Ayurvedic companies do not mention the dose on the label to avoid confusion, which is quite okay.

In the international market, as per US FDA guidelines, the herbal product or dietary supplements should have the dose mentioned on the label. This is because, most of the dietary supplements are purchased by the consumer without consulting anyone. So the label of the supplement needs to be self explanatory.

Dose of medicine suggested by Ayurvedic doctor – 
A good Ayurvedic doctor fixes the dose of Ayurvedic medicine based on the following criteria –

Anupana – co drink
Usually Ayurvedic medicines are given along with co – drinks, like hot water, cold water, honey, ghee, certain Kashayams etc  These co drinks helps in easy absorption of the medicine. Often it also contributes in treating the disease. If the co drink is strong, then the required dose of the Ayurvedic medicine might be less.  Example, Honey is usually given with Sitopaladi Churna to treat cough. Here, honey also acts as a contributing factor to treat cough.

Time of taking medicine
Certain medicines are required in different doses at different times in a day. For example, Ayurvedic medicine for acidity might be required in higher dose at night, since the stomach will be empty the whole night. The dose of the medicine required during morning might be less, since during the day, patient would take timely food.

Strength of medicine  
If the medicine is too strong, then the dose will be less and safer low strength medicines might be required in higher doses.

Strength of other medicines prescribed
Strength of the other Ayurvedic medicines prescribed might contribute positively and hence the dose of individual products might be less.

Season – Season plays a vital role in deciding the dose. For example, during winter, Ayurvedic medicine for cold might be required in higher dose whereas lesser dosage might be required during Summer.

Age of the patient – For kids and elderly, the dose might be lesser.

Toleration capacity of patient – Patient needs to tolerate the taste and effect of medicines on his or her body. If the patient is sensitive or emotionally weak, a lesser dose is preferred.

Place of the patient – If the patient comes for a cold  marsh place,  he might require Ayurvedic medicine for cold in a higher dose.

Dosha body type of the patient –  Suppose a patient has Kapha Vata body type,  suffering from Asthma. In him, the required dose might be higher. Similarly gastritis patients with Pitta body type might require medicines in higher doses.

Height and Weight of the patient – The herbal constituents are required to be present in optimum quantities for specific time periods to bring about desired therapeutic action. Hence height and weight of the patient is one of the very important criteria.

Disease – Time, seriousness and stage of the disease is considered while deciding the dose.

Ayurvedic home remedies – If the Ayurvedic doctor suggests home remedies to follow along with medicines, then the dose of prescribed medicine might be less as the home remedy will be contributing to the treatment.

Prescribed ayurvedic diet – Strict following of diet rules suggested by doctor helps to decrease the dose of medicines. Especially in lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension etc. Conversely if you are not following the diet rules, then the required dose of medicine might be higher.

Activities – Example –  Exercise will help you to reduce the dose of Ayurvedic medicine for weight loss.
Exercise will also help your doctor to reduce the dose of  medicine for diabetes.

Panchakarma treatment – Panchakarma treatments helps to fix the imbalanced Doshas very fast. Hence, the dose of medicines required after a Panchakarma treatment might be lesser.