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Vision problems
Contributor: KathiG
Overview
What Are Vision Problems?
Your eyes are your body's most highly developed sensory organs. In fact, a far larger part of your brain is dedicated to the functions of eyesight than to those of hearing, taste, touch or smell combined! We tend to take eyesight for granted, yet when vision problems develop, most of us will do everything in our power to restore our eyesight to normal.
The most common forms of vision impairment are errors of refraction -- the way light rays are bent inside the eye so images can be transmitted to the brain. Nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism are examples of refraction disorders. The eyes are otherwise healthy. Refractive errors are correctable. This is different than vision problems related to eye disease. Retinal detachment, macular degeneration and glaucome are disorders of the functional eye and its processing units that lead to blurry or defective vision. Here the goals of treatment may be to halt vision loss and preserve remaining eyesight.
Causes
Nearsightedness
Nearsightedness and farsightedness have to do with the way the eye brings images into focus on the back of the eyeball, where 10 layers of delicate nerve tissue make up the retina. Images that do not focus on the retina will appear blurry. The further away images focus from the retina, the blurrier they appear.
Nearsightedness, or myopia, which affects about 40% of the population, is the result of images being focused in front of the retina rather than on it, so distant objects appear blurred. An uncorrected nearsighted person holds a book closer to the eyes when reading and has to sit in the front of the classroom or movie theater to see clearly. The condition runs in families and affects men and women equally, usually appearing in childhood and stabilizing in the twenties.
Farsightedness
Farsightedness, or hyperopia, is the opposite of nearsightedness: The hyperopic eye focuses images slightly behind the retina, making nearby objects appear blurry. Children often outgrow mild farsightedness as they mature and the eyeball reaches adult size. Did you know that the eye enlarges during childhood? The length of the eye (from front-to-back) elongates nearly one-third between birth and age five, and the volume of the eye nearly doubles!
Eyestrain
Eyestrain is a very common complaint. It is discomfort attributed to an uncorrected refractive problem and may occur while performing distant visual activities like driving or watching a movie or during-close-up tasks.
Familiar forms of eyestrain include headache, brow-ache, eye fatigue or even a pulling sensation. Eyestrain quickly dissipates if the refractive problem is resolved. Prolonged focusing can lead to eyestrain, such as working at the computer for hours. Children have a far more flexible focusing capacity. How often do you ever hear a child complain of eyestrain while playing video games? If you wear prescription spectacles, recurring eyestrain may be an indication that you need updated glasses or a new prescription. Eye exercises or resting the eyes every 30 minutes helps relieve eyestrain, especially when working with computers.
There are other eye conditions that respond in varying degrees to medical and surgical treatment. The most common Eye Problems include: cataracts, conjunctivitis, Glaucoma, crossed or crooked eyes (strabismus), lazy eye (amblyopia), and macular degeneration.
Treatment
Vitamin A
The intake of vitamin A is of utmost importance for improving vision. The best sources of this vitamin are raw spinach, turnip tops, milk cream, cheese, butter, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, cabbage, soya beans, green peas, fresh milk, oranges, and dates. If taken as a supplement, 25,000 IU of vitamin A are recommended daily.
Triphala
Triphala, the famous Ayurvedic preparation, is considered beneficial in the treatment of myopia. This preparation consists of three myrobalans, namely, embelica myrobalan (amla), chebulic myrobalan (harad), and belleric myroblan (bahera). A decoction of this preparation should be made by mixing thirty grams of Triphala in half a litre of water and should be taken by mouth and also used for washing the eyes twice a day. This will bring good results if continued for some months.
Liquorice
Another effective remedy for myopia is liquorice. Half a teaspoon of powder of the root, mixed with an equal quantity of Honey and half the quantity of ghee, should be given twice daily with a cup of milk on an empty stomach for the treatment of this condition.
Chicory
The herb chicory or endive is extremely valuable in defective vision due to myopia. It contains food elements which are constantly needed by the optic system. It is one of the richest sources of vitamin A which is very useful for the eyes. The addition of juices of carrot, celery, and parsley to chicory juice makes it a highly nourishing food for the optic nerve and the muscular system. It can bring amazing results in correcting eye defects. Half a litre to one litre of this combination, taken daily, has frequently corrected eye troubles in the course of a few months to the extent that normal vision was regained, making the wearing of spectacles unnecessary. The formula proportions considered useful in this combination are 200 ml of carrot juice, 150 ml of celery juice, 75 ml of endive juice and 75 ml of parsley juice to make half a liter of this combination.
