Kshara application for turbinate hypertrophy

Nasapratinaha (nasal obstruction) is a commonly encountered disease in clinical practice. It is one of the nasal disorders, explained in Ayurveda, having nasal obstruction leading to difficulty in breathing as the main cardinal feature. In contemporary science, this condition can be correlated with various diseases such as turbinate hypertrophy, deviated nasal septum, nasal mass, mucosal congestion, allergic rhinitis, and others; among which turbinate hypertrophy is a common cause. Turbinate hypertrophy can be treated with surgical and medical methods. The medical treatment has limitation for prolonged use because of health purpose, surgical approaches too have failed to achieve desired results in turbinate hypertrophy due to complications and high recurrence rate. The medical and surgical managements have their own limitations, merits, and demerits like synechiae formation, rhinitis sicca, severe bleeding, or osteonecrosis of the turbinate bone A parasurgical treatment explained in Ayurveda, known as kshara pratisarana, which is a minimal invasive and precise procedure for this ailment, tried to overcome this problem. ‘Kshara Karma’ is a popular treatment modality in Ayurveda, which has been advocated in disorders of nose like arbuda (tumor) and adhimamsa (muscular growth). Clinical observation has shown its effectiveness in the management of turbinate hypertrophy. A case report of 45-year-old male who presented with complaints of frequent nasal obstruction, nasal discharge, discomfort in nose, and headache; and diagnosed as turbinate hypertrophy has been presented here. The patient was treated with one application of Kshara over the turbinates. The treatment was effective and no recurrence was noticed in the follow up.