Aphenam (Ahiphenam)

                                                        Aphenam (Ahiphenam)
Posted September 2,By Muthukumar
Names:-
Latin Opium
Tamil Apin
Telugu Nallamandu
Canarese Aphinu
Malayal Aphin, caruppu
Urdu Afim
Aphookam Soshanam graahi
Sleshmaghnam Vaatapittalam
Bhaavaprakash.
Ahiphena (Aphookam – Opium) dries up secretions (except sweat) and is astringent. It checks Kapha and increases Pitta and Vaata. (Here increasing Vaata possibly means that abdominal distention and constipation are increased. It no doubt alleviates pain temporarily.)
Dose:- Internally ½ to 2 grains as pill or in compound pill or powder or as an aasavam.
Externally as a liniment or plaster.
Action:- Sedative, hypnotic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, anodyne, narcotic and cerebral depressant.
“Aphenam sannipataghnam vrishyam balyamcha mohadam” Raja nighantu, “Aphukam shoshanam graahi sleshmaghnam vaatapittalam, Madakrut daahakrucchukrasthambanayacha mohakrith, Athisaara grahanyaancha hitam deepana paachanam.”
Uses:- It is one of the most valuable drugs if properly used and the most dangerous if misused. It is the best drug to relieve pain but should never be given when the cause of pain is not known and when the pain could be relieved by fomentation, counter irritation, expurgation, and other processions. Also, it should never be given when the patient is sleeping.
If there is indigestion, it is better to allow proper digestion to take place rather than to check the active natural processes. Therefore in the early stages of indigestion or diarrhoea it is contra-indicated. But in late stages when motion is yellow and the mala shows no signs of indigestion, opion is a very valuable drug to give rest to the intestines and to effect a cure in certain stages of diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera. Improper use or large doses help to poison the system not only by its own poisonous effect but also to retained, undigested faecal matter in the intestines and to suppression or retention of urine. Another great danger in its use is that it lessens all tissue activity and that all the secretions except sweat are reduced. When stools and urine are stopped, the patient may be apparently feeling better but he may be actually growing worse owing to the accumulation of poisons in the system. It is therefore most dangerous to give opium when the kidneys or urinary system or the liver are affected.
In pain due to nervous disease, its action is marvelous and sometimes permanent. I know of diseases in which all other drugs failed for months or years together and a small dose of opium effected a radial cure; for example, one case of pain in the gastric region with irritation which lasted for years and another case with gnawing pain in the left shoulder-joint due to chronic rheumatism or gouty tendency which did not yield to any other treatment responded to a very small dose of opium and were permanently cured even when the opium was withdrawn. In distressing cough or spasm in lung diseases its use may be advantageous.
In children, opium is given in the Northern Circars for almost all diseases. The success mostly depends upon the experience of the mother and on the hereditary habit. But, it should be strongly discouraged.
As an aphrodisiac, it is successfully used by some but it is difficult to estimate its value. In diabetes, I have found its use invariably harmful in the long run and the cases in which opium is found useful are more easily amenable to cure by having recourse to a natural diet rich in vegetables, to regulated physical exercises and mental rest. In case of pain due to incurable diseases such as cancer, last stages of consumption etc., it is most valuable as alleviating the sufferings temporarily but should be used cautiously.
As an external application, it is most useful in relieving pain and in inflammation in certain cases and is used as a liniment with oil and camphor or as a plaster with Gandhapheroja (a gum resin) – 10 to 30 grains to an ounce either of liniment or of plaster.