Glaucoma

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Glaucoma

It’s called the sneak thief of sight because glaucoma has no obvious symptoms at first—it’s painless, and there’s no effect on vision. By the time you notice that your sight isn’t what it used to be, glaucoma has done its damage.

Here’s how it occurs: A normal eye is filled with fluid, and that fluid drains through tissue between the iris and cornea. With glaucoma, that drain backs up—no one knows why—and the fluid either flows out slowly or stops flowing. The backup builds pressure throughout the eye, damaging blood vessels that feed the retina and optic nerve. Without nutrients, the optic nerve begins to die, along with your vision. One of every seven legally blind people in America lost sight due to glaucoma. Once glaucoma is diagnosed through a regular eye exam, most people use medication to keep it from getting worse. The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with the approval of your doctor—may help prevent glaucoma or slow its development, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When... You notice any vision loss, no matter how slight.

Ayurveda

Glaucoma is a disorder of the kapha dosha, according to Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (For more information on the Ayurvedic doshas, see “All about Vata, Pitta and Kapha” on page 28.) He says an Indian herb called punarnava helps minimize kapha accumulation and slowly reduces pressure on the affected eye. Punarnava is available in Indian pharmacies or by mail order (refer to the resource list on page 634).

To treat glaucoma in its early stages, Dr. Lad suggests making a tea by steeping one teaspoon of punarnava in one cup of hot water for two minutes. Strain the tea until there’s no punarnava in the water, then drink the tea two or three times a day, he says. Dr. Lad also recommends abstaining from coffee, white sugar and dairy products.

This remedy is not a substitute for your eye doctor’s care, says Dr. Lad. He says to be sure to consult your doctor before beginning this treatment.

Reflexology

Pay special attention to the eye, throat, neck, kidney and diaphragm reflexes on both feet, and make sure to thoroughly work all of the points on the sides and bottoms of your toes, too, says St. Petersburg, Florida, reflexologist Dwight Byers, author of Better Health with Foot Reflexology. (To work the toe points, use whichever technique you find most comfortable.)

To help you locate these points, consult the foot reflex chart on page 592. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Sound Therapy

For some people, listening to slow, relaxing music for 20 to 40 minutes each day might help reduce the eye pressure that marks glaucoma, says Janalea Hoffman, R.M.T., a composer and music therapist based in Kansas City, Missouri. Hoffman suggests her tapes Musical Acupuncture and Musical Biofeedback; for other selections, see “Sailing Away to Key Largo” on page 129. Many of these are available from music stores. For information on ordering the tapes, refer to the resource list on page 642.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

Take vitamin C, adds Jay Cohen, O.D., associate professor at the State University of New York College of Optometry in New York City. “Studies show that high doses help draw fluid out of the eye in some way,” he says. “I advise my patients to take supplements of between 1,000 and 2,000 milligrams a day, amounts that would be difficult to get in foods alone.”

See also Vision Problems