Can you describe the effects of Sharad Ritu or the October Heat as stated in Ayurveda ?

As the monsoon withdraws across India we see a surge of heat hitting us during the day. This is typical of October heat and it gradually starts to show signs. The heat is so intense that it often burns your skin and is noticeably more than the heat of the summers.

Here the sharpness of the heat is more palpable than the heat. The तीक्ष्णता or the sharpness penetrates the body surface leading to a variety of symptoms like migraine, headaches, sinusitis, sore eyes, fever, cough and cold, weakened feeling, nasal bleeding etc.

One often feels drained of strength and sleepy. The summers shower more उष्णता than तीक्ष्णता, where there is enormous heat but not the kind of heat that would burn you. One way of avoiding it is by not exposing yourself to it, though its effects are still noticeable even in shade. Those who are prone to nasal bleeding, migraine attacks should avoid spicy foods or pitta causing food  that might fuel the sharpness of the pitta. Sharad ritu is a pitta causing season (ritu). It raises pitta levels leading to symptoms such as stated above.