COMPREHENSIVE AYURVEDIC REVIEW ON SKIN AS AN INDICATOR OFHEALTH AND DISEASE

The skin, being the body’s largest and most visible organ, often reflects physical beauty and serves as a critical indicator of overall health. As a multifunctional organ, the skin provides essential diagnostic clues for underlying systemic conditions, many of which manifest through changes in appearance, colour, texture, and sensation. Ayurveda describes Twak as the seat of the Sparshanendriya and extensively details its structure, function, and attributes related to health and disease. The Ayurvedic classics, particularly chapters like Kushta Chikitsa, comprehensively discuss skin disorders, their causes, and their treatments. However, the significance of skin as an overall health index and diagnostic tool extends across numerous contexts in the Samhitas. This review aims to explore these scattered references, offering a multidimensional understanding of skin as an indicator of health and disease from an Ayurvedic perspective.