Nursing in Ancient India

Around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, the oldest advanced civilization called the Harappan (according to the site of Harappa) arose in the Indus river basin. We know about healing and caring for the sick from books called the Vedas - books of knowledge. E.g. Ayurveda was a book about long life. It mentions how to heal and how to maintain health. Anatomical knowledge at the time was poor, although dissection was permitted. Autopsies were performed by maceration, i.e. dead bodies were soaked in running water and decomposition and the maceration process were described. The care of the sick was closely linked to religion.

Causes of diseases
Human life was conditioned by the existence of three substances - air, blood, mucus. Their disturbed balance causes physical illness. It also arises as a consequence of sins committed in an earlier life

Mental illness [ edit | edit source ]
They were caused by supernatural forces - evil spirits and demons who, when angered, enter a person's body to possess their mind. The care of the patient consisted in the application of various plants (garlic, fennel, ginger, hemp) or mineral substances (alum, iron sulphide). About 700 medicinal preparations were known in the form of decoctions, poultices, ointments, enemas...

Surgical care [ edit | edit source ]
Surgery was really at a high level in ancient India. From this time we know amputations, plastic surgery of ears, lips, nose. The Indians introduced caesarean section and obstetrical turns of the fetus. The surgical instruments received considerable perfection, there were about 120 of them – probes, trocars, scalpels, magnets for removing metal bodies.

Hygiene [ edit | edit source ]
In India, the cleanliness of vessels, bodies, and teeth were cleaned with special brushes and powders. According to the law, leftover food and other impurities had to be taken away from the dwellings. These rules were fully binding, especially for members of the upper classes. Emphasis was also placed on the right lifestyle. Exercise that prevented obesity was preferred. In the same way, many diseases were prevented by proper nutrition.

In the collection of medical knowledge, there is a mention: " The doctor, the medicine, the nurse, the patient are four agents, if the treatment is to be successful, each must have four qualities: the nurse must be devoted, clean, skilled, educated..."

Related Articles [ edit | edit source ]

 * History of nursing
 * History of nursing/Prehistoric times
 * History of nursing/Antiquity
 * Nursing in Ancient Egypt
 * Nursing in Ancient China
 * Nursing in Ancient Greece
 * Nursing in Ancient Rome
 * History of Nursing/Middle Ages
 * History of Nursing/Modern Age
 * History of nursing/19. century

References [ edit | edit source ]

 * RÚŽIČKA, R..  Medicine of ancient civilizations. 1st edition. Olomouc: Poznání, 2004.  ISBN 80-86606-18-X.


 * MILTNER, V..  Medicine of Ancient India. 1st edition. Prague: Avicenum, 1986.  ISBN 80-86198-22-7.

Category : Nursing, History of medicine