Ayurvedic medicine is the oldest comprehensive system of medicine and served as the basis for many that followed. Like Chinese medicine, it combines natural therapies with a highly personalized, holistic approach to the treatment of disease. It treats the whole person, addressing body, mind, and spirit. The Ayurvedic practitioner typically does a pulse diagnosis and categorizes the person’s condition based on the unique Ayurvedic system. The practitioner then recommends herbs, bodywork, cleansing treatments, lifestyle changes, diet suggestions, meditation, music therapy, etc. to bring balance back to the body.

For someone with ITP, Ayurvedic medicine can address both the disease and other conditions that may be out of balance. The cleansing treatments can eliminate impurities stored in the body that interfere with the healing process. These are typically done in a special spa and often involve large amounts of warm, specially prepared sesame oil. The herbs have powerful medicinal properties. Some are very effective in reducing free radicals. The recommendation often includes meditation which has been systematically shown to reduce stress and promote the bodies healing response. The diet is adjusted for each person’s condition. Some of the diet recommendations contradict those of macrobiotics, so anyone who wants to do both has some choices to make.