The Ministry of Ayush has released Standard Treatment Guidelines for the management of dermatological disorders across Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy, with the inclusion of Yoga. The guidelines were prepared by the Ayush Vertical of the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and aim to bring consistency, quality assurance and evidence-informed practice to the treatment of common skin conditions across traditional systems.
These guidelines represent an attempt to standardise how Ayush practitioners across India approach skin diseases, while grounding their recommendations in both classical texts and modern scientific evidence. The guidelines cover prevention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and rehabilitation for conditions including psoriasis, dermatitis, vitiligo, urticaria and dermatophytosis.
Key facts
- Released by the Ministry of Ayush on 13 October 2026, during the 11th Ayurveda Day
- Covers four traditional systems: Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy, plus Yoga
- Addresses common skin conditions: psoriasis, dermatitis, vitiligo, urticaria and dermatophytosis
- Developed by the Ayush Vertical of the Directorate General of Health Services in collaboration with Ayush Research Councils and academic specialists
- Field-level validation conducted with Medical Officers in primary and secondary healthcare facilities in Delhi
- Separate guideline documents published for each traditional system
How the guidelines were developed
The preparation of these guidelines was a multidisciplinary effort. It involved technical expertise from the Ayush Research Councils, senior academic specialists in each of the four traditional systems, Yoga experts, and specialists in modern medicine. The development process included expert consultations, review of classical texts relevant to each system, assessment of current scientific evidence, and consensus-based deliberations.
A distinctive feature of the exercise was field-level validation. The Ayush Vertical partnered with the Directorate of Ayush in Delhi to test the proposed protocols with Medical Officers working in primary and secondary healthcare settings. Feedback from these practitioners on the practical usability of the guidelines was incorporated into the final documents, ensuring they are clinically relevant and operationally feasible.
What the guidelines contain
Each guideline document is system-specific, meaning Ayurveda practitioners, Siddha practitioners, Unani practitioners and Homoeopaths will have recommendations tailored to their respective approaches and principles. However, all four sets of guidelines address the same set of common dermatological conditions.
The guidelines provide practical recommendations across five key areas: prevention of skin disorders, methods of diagnosis, treatment protocols, follow-up procedures, and rehabilitation. By covering all these stages, the guidelines aim to offer a complete pathway for managing skin diseases rather than focusing only on acute treatment.
Each system’s fundamental principles are preserved. The guidelines do not attempt to impose uniform protocols across Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy, but rather standardise practice within each system while grounding that practice in evidence.
Purpose and expected benefits
The Ministry states that the guidelines are intended to strengthen the integration of Ayush systems with India’s national healthcare framework. By promoting standardised and evidence-informed clinical practice, they are expected to improve the quality and consistency of patient care across Ayush practitioners.
The guidelines are also expected to support rational clinical decision-making, capacity building and training of Ayush practitioners, contribute to medical education, and encourage further research into traditional systems of medicine. They will serve as reference documents for practitioners, clinicians, academicians, researchers and policymakers involved in healthcare.
What this means for you
If you use Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani or Homoeopathy for treating skin disorders, these guidelines provide a standardised, evidence-based approach to care. Practitioners following these guidelines should provide more consistent quality of treatment and diagnosis across India. Students and practitioners of these traditional systems will have a structured reference document for managing common skin conditions. For policymakers and public health officials, these guidelines support the integration of Ayush systems into India’s broader healthcare delivery framework.
The guidelines are publicly available through the Ministry of Ayush website, with separate PDF documents for each traditional system.