Cataracts

 

Cataracts are clumps of protein that collect on the lens of an eye and interfere with vision. Normally, light passes through the lens (the clear tissue behind the pupil) and focuses on the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive layer of the eye that sends visual signals to the brain. A cataract occurs when the normally clear lens becomes cloudy. Most cataracts develop slowly over time and are a natural result of aging. Once cataracts become large enough that vision loss interferes with everyday activities such as driving, reading, or watching television, they should be surgically removed.

 

Signs and Symptoms

• Decreased or blurred vision (often described as a "fog")
• Double vision
• Halo around lights
• "Second sight" -- when an individual who normally wears reading glasses can suddenly read without them
• Brown spots in the visual field

 

What Causes It?

A cataract develops when protein in the lens clumps together and blocks light from reaching the retina. It is not clear what causes these proteins to clump together, but some researchers speculate that cataracts may develop

as a result of chemical changes in the lens that occur with aging. Other researchers believe that there may be several causes of cataracts, including smoking, diabetes, and excessive exposure to sunlight.

 

There are several different types of cataracts:

• Age-related cataracts -- those that develop with older age
• Congenital cataracts -- those that are present at birth or develop in early childhood, usually in both eyes
• Secondary cataracts -- those that develop in people with medical conditions (such as diabetes) or in those who use steroids
• Traumatic cataracts -- those that develop as a result of an eye injury

 

Prevention

• Wear ultraviolet (UV)-blocking sunglasses
• Abstain from smoking cigarettes

Certain medications may help delay cataract formation (particularly in those with diabetes or other high-risk conditions), but none are known to reverse the progression of cataracts once they form.

 

Lifestyle

• Eliminate all suspected food allergens, including dairy (milk, cheese, eggs and ice cream), wheat (gluten), soy, corn, preservatives and chemical food additives. Your health care provider may want to test you for

food allergies.

• Eat more antioxidant-rich foods (such as green, leafy vegetables and peppers) and berries (such as blueberries, cherries, and raspberries). Berries contain high levels of beneficial antioxidants for eye health.
• Avoid refined foods, such as white breads, pastas, and sugar.
• Eat fewer red meats and more lean meats, cold-water fish, tofu (soy, if no allergy) or beans for protein.
• Use healthy cooking oils, such as olive oil or vegetable oil.
• Reduce or eliminate trans-fatty acids, found in such commercially baked goods as cookies, crackers,

cakes, French fries, onion rings, donuts, processed foods, and margarine.

• Avoid coffee and other stimulants, alcohol, and tobacco.
• Drink 6 - 8 glasses of filtered water daily.
• Exercise moderately, if tolerated, 5 days a week.

Suggested Nutritional Supplementation

 

• Visio PlexTM - 8 capsules daily with food.

Nutrients and Herbs to Nourish the Eyes

• Wellness EssentialsTM Cardiovascular Support - 2 packets daily

Wellness Essentials Cardiovascular Support is a combination of essential vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phytonutrients to promote healthy cardiovascular function and overall well- being.

 

Dietary Considerations

• FirstLine Therapy® Diet

 

Conjunctivitis

 

An acute infection of the conjunctiva, which may be viral, bacterial or allergic. Only 25% of cases are caused by bacteria. Allergies and viruses (esp. adenoviruses) are responsible for most of the rest, along with other irritations

to the eye and cornea, such as smoke, dust, wind, sunlamps, reflection of the snow, the common cold, exanthems and contact lenses. In neonates, the most common causes of conjunctivitis are chemical (silver nitrate), chlamydia, gonorrhea and other bacteria (strep pneumonia, staph aurous, Hemophilus influenza), and viruses (esp. Herpes Simplex I and II). Bacterial infections may superimpose viral or allergic conditions.

Allergic conjunctivitis is likely to persist until the season is over (e.g. from hay fever in spring), until the allergen

is identified and removed from the patient's exposure, or the symptoms are addressed with DNA's homeopathic

"A" desensitizing drops and nutritional antihistamine support.

Viral conjunctivitis is usually self-limiting in 1-2 weeks, but is highly contagious and care should be taken to not spread the infection from one eye to the other or to another person. For example, the infected person should use separate towels. In bacterial conjunctivitis, treatment should be initiated promptly to avoid eye damage.

Contact wearers should discontinue wearing their contacts for a few days, support nutritionally (Optex, Mycelized

A, and vitamin E) and begin wearing them again slowly.

If the irritating factor is not removed a chronic conjunctivitis may develop with symptoms less severe than that of the acute disease but still quite noticeable (redness, itching, smarting, feeling of foreign body).

 

Symptoms

Viral: Clear discharge; minimal or absent lid swelling; no itching; often, lymphadenopathy of periauricular node

is present.

Allergic: Clear, mucoid discharge; high eosinophils; mild to marked lid swelling; severe itching with increased lacrimation; no nodal involvement.

Bacterial: Purulent, green discharge; high polymorphonuclear leukocytes; moderate lid swelling; no itching; no nodal involvement; possible fever.

Contact Lens Wearers: Mild to marked lid swelling; mild to moderate itching; usually no discharge.

In any of these cases, the patient may wake up in the morning with eyelids agglutinated shut. Children may find this very traumatic the first time it happens.

 

Neonatal Conjunctivitis

• Gonorrhea: usually occurs within 3-5 days of birth
• Chlamydia: usually occurs within 5-14 days of birth
• Chemical irritation from silver nitrate (now rare as most hospitals have switched to erythromycin): occurs

6-8 hours after instillation into the eyes

 

Nutrients Involved

Vitamins A, B6, B2, B-complex, calcium and magnesium

 

Suggested Nutritional Supplementation

 

• Mycelized Vitamin A - 10 drops 3 times daily in water or juice.

Provides pure vitamin A in a special water-soluble, micellized form

Mycelized Vitamin A is absorbed 520% better than any other form of vitamin A.

• Visioplex - 8 capsules daily with food. Nutrients and Herbs to Nourish the Eyes
• 500-C Methoxyflavone - 1-2 tablets 3 times daily with food. Vitamin C with hesperidin/methoxy-flavone complex

 

Dietary Suggestions

• FirstLine Therapy® Diet
• Drug caution: Drugs that can damage the optic nerve, retina and other vital parts are ACTH, allopurinol (gout); anti-coagulants; aspirin; corticosteroids, Diabinese, diuretics, antihistamines, digitals, indomethcin, streptomycin, sulfur drugs, tetracycline, diazepam, haloperidol, quinine

 

Glaucoma

 

Glaucoma is a slowly progressing disease that causes damage to the eye's optic nerve and can result in blindness. Open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of the disease, affects about three million Americans. It is the leading cause of blindness for African-Americans. Because there are usually no symptoms at first, half of the people with this disease don't know they have it. With early treatment, serious vision loss and blindness can usually be prevented.

 

Signs and Symptoms

While symptoms do not initially occur, as the disease progresses, you can lose peripheral (side) vision and then forward vision. Some signs can only be found during an eye exam, such as increased pressure inside the eye and optic nerve abnormalities.

 

What Causes It?

A clear fluid flows in and out of the space at the front of the eye, nourishing nearby tissues. Glaucoma causes the fluid to pass through too slowly or to stop draining altogether. As the fluid builds up, the pressure inside the eye increases, causing damage to the optic nerve and vision loss.

 

Who's Most At Risk?

People with the following conditions or characteristics are at risk for glaucoma:

• Over 60 years of age
• Family history
• African-American descent
• Diabetes
• Myopia (near-sightedness)
• Taking certain drugs, such as antihistamines or blood pressure medications
• Food sensitivities
• Stress
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Hypothyroidism

 

Surgical and Other Procedures

While glaucoma surgery may save remaining vision, it does not improve sight.

• Laser surgery -- makes 50 - 100 evenly spaced burns that stretch the drainage holes in the eye, allowing fluid to drain more efficiently
• Conventional surgery -- creates a new channel for fluid to drain from the eye

 

Complementary and Alternative Therapies

A comprehensive treatment plan for glaucoma may include a range of complementary and alternative therapies.

However, glaucoma should only be treated by a qualified ophthalmologist. Use alternative medicine as support

for a healthy body.

 

Lifestyle

Nutritional tips include the following:

• Eliminate all suspected food allergens, including dairy (milk, cheese, and eggs), wheat (gluten), soy, corn, preservatives and food additives. Your health care provider may want to test you for food allergies.
• Eat more antioxidant-rich foods (such as green, leafy vegetables and peppers) and fruits (such as blueberries, tomatoes, and cherries).
• Avoid refined foods, such as white breads, pastas, and sugar.
• Eat fewer red meats and more lean meats, cold-water fish, tofu (soy, if no allergy) or beans for protein.
• Use healthy cooking oils, such as olive oil or vegetable oil.
• Reduce or eliminate trans-fatty acids, found in such commercially baked goods as cookies, crackers,

cakes, French fries, onion rings, donuts, processed foods, and margarine.

• Avoid coffee and other stimulants, alcohol, and tobacco.
• Drink 6 - 8 glasses of filtered water daily.
• Exercise moderately, if tolerated, 5 days a week.

 

Suggested Nutritional Supplementation

 

• Visio PlexTM - 8 capsules daily with food.

Nutrients and Herbs to Nourish the Eyes

• Wellness EssentialsTM Cardiovascular Support - 2 packets daily

Wellness Essentials Cardiovascular Support is a combination of essential vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phytonutrients to promote healthy cardiovascular function and overall well- being.

 

Dietary Suggestions

• FirstLine Therapy® Diet

 

Iritis / Keratitis

 

Infection of the iris. It is also called anterior uveitis when it involves both the iris and the ciliary body (cyclitis), which is how it typically presents. The causes are many and are rarely identified. Iritis/uveitis is associated with many other diseases: keratitis (infection of the cornea); Reiter's disease; Behcet's syndrome; herpes simplex infections; sarcoidosis; tuberculosis; syphilis; collagen vascular diseases; as well as corneal ulcers and ocular trauma. It may be granulomatous or non-granulomatous.

Iritis may last from a few days to several weeks, and recurrences are not uncommon. If the disease becomes chronic, it may last from months to years. If the inflammation is severe, it may lead to the formation of adhesions between the posterior surface of the iris and the lens capsule that may eventually block the flow of aqueous humor, causing the iris to bulge forward, initiating an acute angle closure glaucoma that may cause rapid blindness. Or, less intense chronic inflammations may cause the development of open-angle glaucoma, cataracts, or corneal disease.

 

Symptoms

Moderate pain in and around the eye; lacrimation; photophobia; redness of conjunctiva; blurred vision; injection around the cornea spreading outwards; small, irregular pupil; details around iris are obscured on visualization and may be swollen; eyeball tension is unusually soft; anterior chamber is normal depth.

 

Nutrients Involved

Vitamin A, vitamin C and rutin

 

Suggested Nutritional Supplementation

 

• Visio PlexTM - 8 capsules daily with food.

Nutrients and Herbs to Nourish the Eyes

• Wellness EssentialsTM Cardiovascular Support - 2 packets daily

Wellness Essentials Cardiovascular Support is a combination of essential vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phytonutrients to promote healthy cardiovascular function and overall well- being.

 

Dietary Suggestions

• Anti-Inflammatory Diet

 

Macular degeneration

 

Macular degeneration is a painless, degenerative eye disease that affects more than 10 million Americans. It is the leading cause of legal blindness in persons over the age of 55 in the United States. While complete blindness does not occur in most people with the disorder, macular degeneration often interferes with reading, driving, or performing other daily activities.

There are two forms of macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration affects about 90% of those with the disease and causes gradual loss of central vision, initially only in one eye. Wet macular degeneration, which accounts for 90% of all severe vision loss from the disease, involves a very sudden loss of central vision.

 

Signs and Symptoms

Macular degeneration is accompanied by the following signs and symptoms:

• Slightly blurred vision
• Dry type: a blurred spot in the central field of vision, which may become larger and darker
• Wet type: straight lines that appear wavy and the rapid loss of central vision; sometimes, wet macular degeneration starts with a sudden blind spot

 

What Causes It?

Dry macular degeneration occurs from the breakdown of the light sensitive cells in the center of the retina, called the macula. Wet macular degeneration occurs when new blood vessels behind the retina grow toward the macula and leak blood and fluid.

 

Who's Most At Risk?

People with the following conditions or characteristics are at risk for developing macular degeneration:

• Age-the risk increases with age
• Cigarette smoking
• Family history of macular degeneration
• Cardiovascular disease
• Elevated levels of cholesterol
• Light eye color
• Excessive exposure to sunlight

 

Nutrition

Antioxidants that protect your retina-such as carotenoids, selenium, zinc, and vitamins C and E-may either delay the progression of macular degeneration if you already have the eye condition (meaning that your vision won't get worse as quickly) or prevent the development of this serious eye disorder. Two particular carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, may be particularly beneficial. Antioxidants can be obtained from foods or supplements.

Eating a diet high in vitamins C and E and carotenoids is likely all that you need to lower your chances of developing macular degeneration in the first place. (In other words, supplements are probably not necessary for prevention.) Vegetables rich in carotene include orange and yellow squash, and dark, leafy greens, such as kale, collards, spinach, and watercress.

 

Suggested Nutritional Supplementation

 

• Appropriate Wellness EssentialsTM formula - 1-2 packets daily

Key Vitamins & Minerals, Essential Fatty Acids, PLUS Patient Specific Nutrition.

• Visio PlexTM - 8 capsules daily with food in divided doses

Nutrients and Herbs to Nourish the Eyes

• Lutein - 1 to 2 capsules twice daily

A Naturally Occurring Carotenoid

 

Dietary Suggestions

• FirstLine Therapy® Diet

 

Sty

 

An acute localized pus-forming infection of either the meibomian glands (internal sty) or the glands of Zeis or Moll (external sty). Medical term is "hordeolum." The usual bacterial agent is Staphylococcus. Hordeoli are associated with blepharitis. Sties normally resolve quickly, but recurrences are common.

 

Symptoms

Internal sty: occurs on the underside of the lid next to the conjunctiva and can include: pain, redness, edema, small yellow area or elevation of the lid on the conjunctival side (usually an abscess develops at that spot, though

it rarely spontaneously suppurates).

External sty: occurs on the lid margin and can include: pain, redness, tenderness, formation of a small area

of induration, develops a yellow spot (pointing) that eventually is the area through which the abscess ruptures, bringing relief of pain, local edema, occasional photophobia and/or lacrimation.

 

Nutrients Involved

Vitamin A, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, zinc

 

Suggested Nutritional Supplementation

 

• Mycelized Vitamin A - 10 drops 2-3 times daily in water or juice.

Provides pure vitamin A in a special water-soluble, micellized form

Mycelized Vitamin A is absorbed 520% better than any other form of vitamin A.

• UltraPotent-C Powder - 2 teaspoons in water or juice 3 times daily. Buffered, high-absorption vitamin C
• Visioplex - 8 tablets daily with food.

Comprehensive nutritional support for the eye

• EPA-DHA Extra Strength - 2 softgels 2-3 times daily. Essential fatty acid support for optimal eye function.

Dietary Suggestions

• FirstLine Therapy® Diet

 

Visual Disturbances

 

Any type of abnormal visual problem. For example:

• Spots (floaters): These are a common adult complaint. The spots are a result of vitreous debris from the degeneration of the membranous attachment of the vitreous body to the optic nerve and retina early in life. The spots are worse in bright light and with Valsalva straining. Although potentially bothersome, they are without pathological significance.
• Retinal detachment: Usually from trauma to the head or eye, it is typically preceded by a shower of

sparks in one quadrant of the visual field, followed by the sensation of a curtain falling over the eye. Also manifests as a degenerative problem with aging.

• Scotomas: A (-) scotoma is a blind spot in the visual field. It can often be unnoticed by the patient unless it occurs in the central vision. A (+) scotoma is described as a light spot or scintillating flash and occurs as a response to abnormal stimulation of some portion of the visual system (e.g. during a migraine prodrome).
• Myopia (near-sightedness): This occurs as the visual image strikes in front of the retina due to an

elongated eyeball or excessive refractive power. The patient can see near objects but not far ones.

• Hyperopia (far-sightedness): This occurs as the visual image strikes behind the retina due to a

shortened eyeball or weak refractive power. It is the most common refractive error, and permits patients to see far objects but not objects that are near. Presbyopia is a hyperopia that occurs with advancing age as

the lens becomes less pliable.

• Astigmatism: Refraction of the eyeball is unequal in its different meridians.
• Anisometropia: A different refractive error in each eye.
• Strabismus (cross-eyes): Deviation of one eye from parallel view. If the condition is congenital, there

is no diplopia, as the vision in the deviated eye is suppressed by the brain. This suppression results in

amblyopia, which is reduced visual acuity. Correctable if caught early.

• Diplopia (double-vision): This can occur for a variety of reasons. It is often seen in acute

ophthalmoplegia and extraocular muscle palsies.

Refractive errors and astigmatism are treated with either corrective lenses or eye exercises to compensate. In almost all cases but the most severe (those who are considered ‘legally blind"), 20/20 vision can be recovered.

��etinal detachment is a medical emergency. Prompt surgery markedly improves prognosis.

 

Nutrients Involved

Vitamin A, B-complex (esp. vitamin B2), kelp, copper, zinc, calcium

 

Suggested Nutritional Supplementation

 

• Visio PlexTM - 8 capsules daily with food.

Nutrients and Herbs to Nourish the Eyes

• Thyrosol - 1-2 tablets 2 times daily on an empty stomach.

Nutritional support for thyroid function

• EPA-DHA Extra Strength - 2 softgels 2-3 times daily. (see EPA-DHA section in the appendix) Essential fatty acid support for optimal eye function.

 

Itchy Eyes Due to Contacts

• Glycogenics - 3 tablets daily with food. Homocystein/balanced B-complex formula
• HP 1 Pain & Inflammation Remedy - 4 tablets 3 times daily on an empty stomach.

A high quality, hand-made homeopathic formula, designed to relieve fever, swelling, pain, earaches,

dermatitis, poison oak, or bee stings

 

Dietary Suggestions

• FirstLine Therapy® Diet
• Increase foods rich in vitamin A and B-complex (blueberries, carrots, black beans)