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More Acupuncture Articles
Acupuncture For Vision Health
One issue acupuncture can be helpful with is eye care and vision health. Glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, allergic eye irritation, chronic dry eye, cataracts and double vision are some of the vision conditions treated by acupuncture. Some research has been done to back up the effects seen with acupuncture.
Vision health is affected by our overall health, as well as how much stress, tension or worry we are experiencing. Nothing exists in a vacuum, and other health issues can affect our eyes. Because acupuncture is able to balance our stress, and addresses our overall health issues, our eyes are also benefitted. It works to bring more blood flow to the eyes, and increases the flow of qi (chee), or energy to the eyes.
In research studies related to glaucoma, an eye disease affecting the optic nerve resulting from high levels of pressure in the eye, 20 minutes of acupuncture was shown to decrease the eye pressure. One study showed a marked decrease in eye pressure.
Chronic dry eye, mainly treated with use of eye drops, was shown in recent studies using acupuncture it clearly decreased tear evaporation rates due to reduced eye surface temperatures. A meta analysis of the research also showed the same results.
One difficult eye disease to treat, or reverse, is age-related macular degeneration. The patient begins to lose sight in the center of their visual field, which increases over time. Acupuncture has been shown effective to halt the advancement of this disease, and give patients higher visual sharpness.
A study done in China showed acupuncture 88% effective compared to the control group receiving vitamins, and medication at 60% effectiveness.
With eye issues like allergic eye irritation, acupuncture can reduce the inflammatory response bringing redness, itching and tearing. This also holds for other inflammatory eye conditions.
All in all, acupuncture is a helpful alternative treatment to restore and maintain optimal eye health. By harnessing the body’s natural healing responses, acupuncture helps your body remember how it is supposed to operate.
