Concept Analysis of Thirst as a Symptom and Its Causes From the Perspective of Iranian Traditional Medicine: A Hybrid Model Study
Authors:   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Jafari Parisa , Mojahedi Morteza ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, Iranian Medicine and History of Medical Sciences Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran., Hakimi Fatemeh ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Tansaz Mojgan ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Movahhed Mina ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Choopani Rasool ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Khodadoost Mahmood ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Ilkhani Reza ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Parsa Elham ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Mokaberinejad Roshanak ,   Department of Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Published: February 2021

Objective: Thirst (Attash) is a diagnostic sign of diseases from the perspective of Iranian Traditional Medicine (ITM).The purpose of this study is to provide a functional definition for the concept of thirst and its causes in ITM. Methods: In this study, we used the concept analysis (hybrid model) which has three phases; in the theoretical phase, the content related to the definition of thirst and its causes were searched in ITM books and an efficient definition of thirst was presented. In the fieldwork phase, main themes were obtained after semi-structured interviewing of 16 ITM specialists. In the final (analytical) phase, the results of the two previous phases were compared to each other to present the final definition for thirst. Results: The thirst is defined as the need for water and any food that is cold and wet, and the increase and decrease in thirst is a sign of disease. For its examination, it is necessary to pay attention to the change in the degree of thirst and the amount of consumed water or cold/wet foods. It is important to differentiate between drinking water as recommended, drinking water as habit, or drinking water because of dry mouth with thirst. Different characteristics of thirst can be used to diagnose the affected organs. Conclusion: In this study, using the concept analysis method, a functional definition of the thirst as a symptom was presented and its causes were investigated. The low number of studies on thirst and lack of access to some ITM specialists were some of the limitations of our study. It is recommended to investigate the prevalence of thirst in patients and its relationship with dystemperament in future studies.