Overview

Coconut is one of the herbs traditionally used in Ayurveda for measles. Coconut (Narikela) is the cooling Rasayana of the coast: tender water settles Mutrakrichhra and Daha, mature oil seals scalp and skin, kernel rebuilds Kshaya.

How Coconut Helps with Measles

According to Ayurvedic pharmacology, Coconut has specific properties that make it valuable for addressing measles:

Potency (Virya): Sheeta (cold)
Post-digestive (Vipaka): Madhura (sweet)
Taste (Rasa): Madhura (sweet)
Qualities (Guna): Guru (heavy), Snigdha (unctuous)

Safety & Precautions

Coconut is a food first, and for most people it is very safe. The cautions come from its own qualities: it is heavy, oily and cold.

Kapha Imbalance

Coconut can aggravate Kapha in excess. If you tend toward heaviness, congestion, mucus or sluggish digestion, keep to small amounts of coconut water and go easy on the rich forms like coconut milk, cream and flesh.

The same rule applies on the skin and scalp. On wet, oozing, swollen skin patches, or an oily scalp with sticky dandruff, the heavy oil can make things worse.

Too Cooling for Some

If your skin or body runs cold and pale rather than warm and dry, coconut may be too cooling. Sesame oil is the usual warming alternative.

Kidney Disease and Medications

Coconut water carries a natural potassium load. Avoid large quantities (more than about 1 liter a day) if you have kidney disease or take potassium-sparing diuretics, ACE inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers, because blood potassium can rise too high.

Blood Sugar

Coconut water contains natural sugars. If you have diabetes, count it in your daily carbohydrates and keep to about one cup a day.

When to See a Doctor

Coconut supports care; it does not replace it. Burning urination with fever, kidney pain or blood in the urine needs medical evaluation, and so does any severe allergic reaction, deep burn or spreading infection.

▶ Classical Text References (4 sources)

Meat juice (Mamsarasa) which is not very thick, Rasala (curds churned and mixed with pepper powder and sugar), Raga (syrup which is sweet, sour and salty) and Khandava (syrup which has all the tastes, prepared with many substances), Panaka panchasara, (syrup prepared with raisins (draksha), madhuka, dates (karjura), kasmarya, and parushaka fruits all in equal quantities, cooled and added with powder of cinnamon leaves, cinnamon and cardamom etc) and kept inside a fresh mud pot, along with leav
— Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Ritucharya adhyaya Seasonal

Narikelodaka- (coconut water benefits):ना रकेलोदकं ि न धं वाद ु व ृ यं हमं लघु त ृ णा प ता नलहरं द पनं बि तशोधनम ् १९ Tender coconut water is Snigdha – unctuous, oily Swadu – sweet, Vrushya – aphrodisiac, Hima – coolant, Laghu – easy to digest Relieves Trushna – thirst, Pittanila hara – balances Pitta and Vata.
— Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Drava Vigyaniya Drinkables

Source: Astanga Hridaya Sutrasthan, Ritucharya adhyaya Seasonal; Drava Vigyaniya Drinkables

Two primary lipid sources: vegetable (sesame, mustard, coconut) and animal (ghee, oil, muscle fat, bone marrow).
— Charaka Samhita, Sutra Sthana — Fundamental Principles, Chapter 13: Oleation Therapies (Snehadhyaya / स्नेहाध्याय)

Source: Charaka Samhita, Sutra Sthana — Fundamental Principles, Chapter 13: Oleation Therapies (Snehadhyaya / स्नेहाध्याय)

Coconut oil (narikela sneha) should be given to drink continuously.
— Sharangadhara Samhita, Parishishtam, Chapter 17: Diseases of Hydrocephalus / CSF Accumulation (Shirshambu Roga)

Supportive care: head shaving for observation/cooling, warm head wrapping, and regular coconut oil administration (for its neuroprotective and hydrating properties).
— Sharangadhara Samhita, Parishishtam, Chapter 17: Diseases of Hydrocephalus / CSF Accumulation (Shirshambu Roga)

Coconut oil and Rasa Sindura (mercurial preparation) should be used.
— Sharangadhara Samhita, Parishishtam, Chapter 24: Uterine/Placental Diseases (Jarayu Roga)

External poultice therapy on the lower abdomen, with coconut oil application and internal Rasa Sindura -- combining local and systemic treatment.
— Sharangadhara Samhita, Parishishtam, Chapter 24: Uterine/Placental Diseases (Jarayu Roga)

Beneficial in Daha (burning sensation): old rice, green gram (Vigna radiata), barley, sugar, milk, pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica), dates (Phoenix dactylifera), pomegranate (Punica granatum), and coconut (Cocos nucifera).
— Sharangadhara Samhita, Parishishtam, Chapter 29: Diet for Burning Sensation (Daha Pathyapathyam)

Source: Sharangadhara Samhita, Parishishtam, Chapter 17: Diseases of Hydrocephalus / CSF Accumulation (Shirshambu Roga); Parishishtam, Chapter 24: Uterine/Placental Diseases (Jarayu Roga); Parishishtam, Chapter 29: Diet for Burning Sensation (Daha Pathyapathyam)

The sweet (madhura) group includes: Kakolyadi group, ghee, fat, marrow, shali rice, shashtika rice, barley, wheat, shringataka, seruka, trapusa (cucumber), ervaaruka, karkaru, kala, bukalindaka, taka, giloda, priyala, pushkara seed, kashmari, madhuka, dracha (grapes), kharjura (dates), rajadana, tala (palm), nalikera (coconut), water preparations, bala, atibala, atmagupta, vidari, payasya, gochuraka, chira, morata, madhulika, krishmaranda, and others.
— Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 42: Rasavishesha-vijnaniya Adhyaya - On Specific Knowledge of Tastes

Narikela (coconut) — sweet, cool, unctuous, nourishing, bladder-purifying.
— Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 46: Annapana-vidhi Adhyaya - On Food and Drink

The sweet (madhura) group includes: Kakolyadi group, ghee, fat, marrow, shali rice, shashtika rice, barley, wheat, shringataka, seruka, trapusa (cucumber), ervaaruka, karkaru, kala, bukalindaka, taka, giloda, priyala, pushkara seed, kashmari, madhuka, dracha (grapes), kharjura (dates), rajadana, tala (palm), nalikera (coconut), water preparations, bala, atibala, atmagupta, vidari, payasya, gochuraka, chira, morata, madhulika, krishmaranda, and others.
— Sushruta Samhita, Rasavishesha-vijnaniya Adhyaya - On Specific Knowledge of Tastes

Coconut Water, Boiled Water, and Therapeutic Water Uses (Verses 25-45) Water exposed to sunlight during the day and moonlight at night, without loss of taste, free from excessive moisture — such water equals rainwater in quality (verse 25).
— Sushruta Samhita, Dravadravya-vidhi Adhyaya - On Liquid Substances

Narikela (coconut) — sweet, cool, unctuous, nourishing, bladder-purifying.
— Sushruta Samhita, Annapana-vidhi Adhyaya - On Food and Drink

Source: Sushruta Samhita, Sutra Sthana, Chapter 42: Rasavishesha-vijnaniya Adhyaya - On Specific Knowledge of Tastes; Sutra Sthana, Chapter 46: Annapana-vidhi Adhyaya - On Food and Drink; Rasavishesha-vijnaniya Adhyaya - On Specific Knowledge of Tastes; Dravadravya-vidhi Adhyaya - On Liquid Substances; Annapana-vidhi Adhyaya - On Food and Drink

Medical Disclaimer: The information on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Ayurvedic treatments should be pursued under the guidance of a qualified practitioner (BAMS/MD Ayurveda). Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any new treatment. Content is sourced from classical Ayurvedic texts and may not reflect the latest medical research.