Homeopathy for Glaucoma

Glaucoma is optic nerve damage, often associated with increased ocular pressure that leads to progressive and irreversible loss of vision.  Glaucoma is the third leading cause of blindness and effects around 14 million people worldwide. It happens when there is an imbalance in the production and drainage the of aqueous humor leading to an increased eye pressure.

Normally the aqueous humor, which nourishes the eye, is produced in the ciliary body behind the iris and flows to the front of the eye where it drains into canals between the iris and the cornea. When this process is working normally, the inflow equals the drainage and normal eye pressure is maintained.

In glaucoma, the canals that drain the fluid become clogged, blocked, or covered and the fluid increases pressure and effects the optic nerve in the back of the eye. When the optic nerve becomes damaged glaucoma is the result.

There are two types of glaucoma:

• Open-angle glaucoma – This is the most common type of glaucoma. In open angle, the drainage canals become clogged or blocked slowly over months or years and slowly increases eye pressure. The fluid continues to drain but is slow and damage is also slow and progressive.
• Closed-angle glaucoma – This type is a much less common type of glaucoma. In closed-angle, the canals suddenly become blocked and there is a sudden increase in eye pressure yet production continues. Damage can be severe and blindness can result.

The causes of glaucoma are not known. Injury, surgery, irritation, cataracts, and heredity factors can play a part in why glaucoma develops. From the German New Medicine perspective, glaucoma effectively turns the lens, because of the higher pressure, into a magnifying glass which happens for a person who wants to reach their goal as rapidly as possible. They may have an anxiety about the immediate future. They may feel the need to approach things more closely because in the past they have been a little too late and fail when success should have been possible. With magnification, one can reach this goal since it appears much closer.

Detecting glaucoma requires seeing an ophthalmologist to have the eye pressure measured. This is done with an instrument called a tonometer. Eye pressure greater than 20 to 22 millimeters of mercury pressure is considered abnormal. But often there are people who have glaucoma with normal eye pressure and optic nerve damage can be seen only with a slit light and the doctor looking through an opthalmoscope. Sometimes visual field testing can detect blind spots. The last test available is looking in the eye with a special lens to examine the drainage canals. This proceedure is called a gonioscopy. It can acurately diagnose open-angle or closed-angle glaucoma.

Drug therapy is the most common treatment. There are many classes of drugs used but they all have either decreasing the aqueous humor production or increasing the drainage outflow as their effects. All of these drugs come with a list of "side" effects. They must be used carefully and the condition monitored regularly. Surgery can be recommended if the eye drop drugs are ineffective. There is no known cure for glaucoma and if damage to the optic nerve happens, there is no way to restore the nerve.

Homeopathy can offer help. It is important to find out the story of the person's life. There are many reasons for why we get sick the way we do, so a condition of the eye and vision is only part of the clients story. If there have been any changes in vision or pain, the changes must be understood completely. This will help to find the right remedy that has a similar sensation. Rubrics that may be useful from the Complete 2009 Repertory are:

• Eyes; GLAUCOMA (75) : abel., acon., adren., aegle., allox., arec., arg-n., ars., asar., atra-r., atro., aur., bell., berb., bry., camph., caust., 3Cedr., cimic., cob-n., cocain., 3Cocc., 3Colch., coloc., 3Com., con., cortico., croc., crot-h., croto-t., dttab., dubin., esin., euphr., eys., gels., grin., ham., hed., jab., 3Kali-i., kali-m., 3Lac-c., lach., lyc., mag-c., mag-p., merc., mez., 3Nit-ac., nux-v., op., 3Osm., 4PHOS., 3Phys., phyt., 2piloc., pipe., plb., pot-a., prun., 3Puls., rhod., rhus-t., sapo., saroth., seneg., sil., 3Spig., sulo-ac., sulph., supren., valer., wies., zinc.

• Eyes; GLAUCOMA; Eye too large, as if (1) : 3Com.

• Eyes; GLAUCOMA; Injuries, after (1) : phys.

• Eyes; PAIN; Glaucoma; in (3) : acon., mez., 3Phos.

• Eyes; ATROPHY; Nerves, optic (16) : agar., alco-s., alum-p., arg-n., ars., carbn-o., fil., iodof., nat-ar., 3Nux-v., 4PHOS., sant., 3Stry-n., syph., 4TAB., thal-s.

• Vision; LOSS of vision, blindness; Malignant, central scotoma, with (6) : alco-s., iodof., nitrob., plb., tab., thyr.

• Vision; LOSS of vision, blindness; Vanishing of sight (34) : 3Alco-s., ant-t., 3Arg., 3Arg-n., bell., 3Chel., 3Chen-a., 3Cic., con., 3Croto-t., 3Cycl., 3Gels., 3Graph., 3Grat., hep., 3Kali-bi., 3Kali-c., kali-n., 3Laur., lyc., lyss., 3Nat-m., 3Nux-m., 4NUX-V., 3Ox-ac., 3Puls., 3Sep., 3Sil., spig., stram., sulph., tab., thuj., 3Zinc.

Treating glaucoma requires treating the whole person. If the onset of the dis-ease is rapid, then treating glaucoma as an acute will require medium (30C-200) to higher (1M-10M) potencies and more frequent repetition of doses (1-3 times per day). If the onset is slow, then a lower potency approach often works better. Giving a remedy one time per day in the 6C to 30C range will often have a beneficial effect. Remember, potency selection is based on the strength of the dis-ease expression of the vital force. So treat the person accordingly. The remedy is to inspire healing and is for the person, not the disease.

As you can see, there are 75 different remedies listed under glaucoma. It pays to do research on these if considering prescribing for glaucoma.

Here are some remedies to consider that have strong affinity with the eyes and have been more useful in treating glaucoma:

• Aconitum Napellus – Eyes burn, feel dry, sensitive to air. Much aching and heat. Intense burning shooting pain. The ball, especially the upper half, sensitive if moved. Looking down or turning the eyes; the ball feels enlarged, as if protruding, making the lids tense; feels as if it would be forced out of the orbit. Eyes feel swollen. Feel as if sand were in them. Photophobia. Vision as through a veil; difficult to distinguish faces. Sparks before the eyes; flickering. The aconite patient is characterized by great anxiety, fear, restlessness and thirst. First stage of inflammation, or trauma of cornea, conjunctiva, sclera, lids. The routine remedy for trauma or injuries to the eye from foreign bodies, wounds, operations, and for neuralgia from exposure to a cold dry wind.

• Cedron – If there is any marked periodicity to the symptoms then Cedron is the remedy. Eyes red. Burn like fire. Shooting over left eye. Severe pain in eyeballs with radiating pains around the eye, scalding lachrymation. Periodic supra-orbital neuralgia. Pain over the eye, worse sex. Inflammation of the iris. Objects appear red at night and yellow by day.

• Comocladia Dentata – (Right sided) eye very painful, feeling much larger and more protruding than the left. Aggravated by being near a warm stove. Eyes feel heavy; as if something were pressing on top of the balls, moving them downward and outward. Motion aggravates. Eyeball aches terribly.

• Physostigma Venenosum – Drawing twisting sensation in the eyes. Eyes sore and painful when moved from side to side. Intolerable pain over both orbits. Pain in the eyeballs, sharp, shooting. Dull pain over or between the eyes, after use. Eyes smart; lids feel sore; heavy. Aching in posterior part of orbit, extending back into brain, aggravated by reading which causes nausea. Eyes sensitive to light; feel weak. Spasm of accommodation, this may be irregular and cause astigmatism. Blurred vision as if a film before the eyes.

• Sarothamnus Scopanarius – Chronic glaucoma. Choroiditis. Iritis. Burning and stinging pains, especially behind the left eyeball. Pain on moving the eyes. When looking at an area of light, the brightness of the light and the rainbow colors of the halo seem more intense.

The drugs offered for glaucoma should not be removed if the client is taking them. They can control the disease and the consequences of the increased pressure over time can be severe. It is best to start giving the remedy and increase the monitoring of the eye pressure. This way the drugs can be lessened with the supervision of an Ophthalmologist as the condition improves with homeopathy. Vision is nothing to take lightly. It is one of our most important senses and should be cared for as such. But where the drug therapy can only treat the symptom and often with "side" effects, homeopathy can offer a cure as the body heals itself, safely and permanently.

Keep the conversation going! I would love to hear your questions and thoughts below!