It clears away all foreign and excess tissue, and possesses a supplementary astringent action that promotes healing. Yet it should be used with discretion where there is severe fatigue or emaciation. In medicated oil, it is one of the best healing and disinfectant agents for skin diseases, and anti-inflammatory agent for joint and muscle pain. In another book by Dr. Bhagwan Dash Ayurvedic Cures for Common Diseases he states that neem is extremely effective for scabies. The parts of the body affected by scabies should be washed daily with water boiled with neem leaves.
Soap prepared with neem oil is very useful.
Neem leaves can be chewed and taken internally also. Tender neem leaves which are not very bitter, are made into a pill the size of a pea and given to the patient, twice a day . In still another book by Dr. Bhagwan Dash Fundamentals of Ayurvedic Medicine he points out that in the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in Northern and Western India which date back to 2500 B.C., several theraputic substances were found including leaves of the neem tree. We will now start to extract verses from the Caraka-Samhita that shed further light on the value and uses of neem.