Definition:– optic nerve damage, often associated with increased eye pressure, that leads to progressive, irreversible damage
Symptoms:
Open-angle glaucoma –
- blind spots or patches of vision loss over months to years;
- untreated – total blindness
Closed-angle glaucoma –
- abrupt onset of –
- severe eye pain and headache,
- redness
- blurred vision
- rainbow-coloured halos around lights
- sudden loss of vision
- nausea and vomiting
Causes:
- Imbalance in production and drainage of fluid in the eye due to clogged, blocked or covered drainage canals,
- heredity,
- damage to eye caused by infection, inflammation, tumour, large cataracts or cataract surgery,
- other conditions
Treatment:
Lifestyle Recommendations
- Exercise regularly – can help to reduce intraocular pressure
- Avoid prolonged eye stress, such as reading, watching television, using a computer for long periods
- Avoid tobacco smoke, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine
- Drink only small amounts of liquid at a time
- Avoid high doses of niacin (> 200 mg daily)
Supplement Recommendations
- Choline (1 000-2 000 mg daily) – important for brain and eyes, and inositol or lecithin
- Essential fatty acids (flaxseed, primrose or salmon oils) – protects and aids repair of new tissues and cells
- Glutathione (500 mg 2x daily, before meals, with 50 mg vitamin B6 and 100 mg vitamin C for better absorption) – powerful antioxidant that protects the lens and maintains molecular integrity of lens fibre membranes
- Rutin (50 mg 3x daily) – important bioflavanoid that works with vitamin C and reduces pain and intraocular pressure
- Vitamin A (50 000 IU daily, max. 10 000 IU daily if pregnant) – needed for good eyesight, essential for formation of visual purple for night vision, plus carotenoids complex with lutein and zeaxanthin
- Vitamin E (200 IU daily) – helps remove particles from the lens; antioxidant properties to protect lens and other eye tissues (alpha-d-tocopherol form), plus L-Arginine – facilitates natural synthesis of nitric oxide, which promotes healthy blood vessels (avoid if pregnant, or have cataracts, colitis, or a viral infection such as herpes)
- Herbs –
- Bilberry (or fresh blueberries and red raspberry leaf) – contains flavanoids and nutrients to protect eyes from further damage
- Chickweed and eyebright – good for all eye disorders
- Combination of ginkgo biloba extract and zinc sulfate – slow progressive vision loss