Ranking of gastrointestinal diseases symptoms in terms of simplicity, availability and fewer complications from the viewpoint of Persian medicine

Background and Purpose:

In traditional Persian medicine, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, especially the stomach, is particularly important due to its close relationship with other organs of the body. The prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms is high and the incidence of these diseases is increasing day by day. Considering the importance of gastrointestinal diseases, in this study, we examined the simplicity, availability, fewer side effects, the prevalence and risk of symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases.

Methods and Materials:

It was a qualitative study that was carried out in Tehran, 2018. In this study, after studying various sources of traditional and conventional medicines regarding symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases, a questionnaire was designed for the evaluation of symptoms in terms of simplicity and the availability of treatment, complications, lower cost, as well as the importance of these symptoms in terms of prevalence and risk. The questionnaire was designed by 13 faculty members of Persian medicine in Iran. The results were analyzed using SPSS software.

The results of this study showed that salivation increase (74%), indigestion (76%), belching (74%), regurgitation (75%), constipation (76%), and flatulence (77%) along with other symptoms with relatively high percentages among different GI symptoms are most important indicators considering the availability of treatment, complications, lower cost, prevalence and risk.

The results of this study showed that Persian medicine could be more effectively evaluated by increasing salivation, eliminating halitosis, indigestion, belching, constipation and flatulence among different signs of gastrointestinal diseases considering the availability of treatment, complications, lower cost, prevalence and risk.