Integrated Approach of Unani Medicine in Geriatric Care

Abstract

Aging is a process of physical, psychological and social changes in multidimensional aspects. The percentage of elderly, in the world population is expected to increase rapidly from 9.5% in 1995 to 20.7% in 2050 and 30.5% in 2150. In India, the population of older people has risen from 4.9% in 1901 to 5.5% in 1951, 6.5% in 1991, 7.7% in 2001, and 8.3% in 2011 and will be 12% in 2025. India has thus acquired the label of “an aging nation.” The health issues of the aging are not restricted to a set of diseases caused at times by free radicals, abnormalities of motor function, audio-visual degeneration and so on; they also include functional incapacitation due to senescent changes in human organs. The leading causes of mortality among aged people comprise respiratory problems, heart diseases, cancer and stroke. Significant causes of morbidity among this group are chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, psychiatric disorders, Parkinson’s disease and age-related urinary problems. Unlike many developed countries, there is no well-structured geriatric health service cell in India. This calls for an urgent action to address the needs of elderly population of India. We can begin with integrating the formal Indigenous systems of health care like Unani medicine with the existing health care structures. Unani medicine has got the potential for prevention of diseases by promotion of health and management of diseases occurring in old age. In various Unani texts the comprehensive explanation of geriatric care is mentioned under the heading of Tadabeer-e-Mashaikh. Unani literature record numerous single and compound plant based medicines, herbo-mineral, formulations for general wellbeing and in disease-specific conditions relating to geriatrics. In this paper, the authors have tried to highlight the strength of Unani medicine in geriatric care.