The homeopathic approach to treating glaucoma is much different than the traditional approach of using eye drops and surgery. In fact, the standard method of lowering pressure by blocking aqueous production is much like treating a person with high blood pressure by giving him medication to stop the production of blood! It does not make sense!

Homeopathic treatment is based on true laws of healing. True laws do not change over time. When I studied homeopathy I used the same text books that were used over 250 years ago. These homeopathic laws of healing have not changed unlike modern medicine which changes treatment methods every year. Are we benefiting from these modern approaches? I do not think so, in fact as a whole, eye disease, especially glaucoma is increasing.

There’s been a dramatic increase in eye disease worldwide. Why is this happening? Can homeopathic laws explain this increase?

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, age-related eye disease including cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration are expected to dramatically increase from 28 million today to 43 million by the year 2020.

The Archives of Ophthalmology published a study in the year 2003 looking at 10,500 patients. Primary open-angle glaucoma has increased by 13.8%.

The first law in homeopathy is the Law of Similars. This states that a substance that produces (symptoms) or disease in a healthy person will be able to cure these symptoms in a disease state. An example is Belladonna. A healthy individual ingesting belladonna will develop a fever with a throbbing headache, red face, thirst and hallucinations. So a sick person presenting with these symptoms will benefit from taking Belladonna.

The body has a wisdom and disease is an attempt for the body to produce homeostasis or a balance. When a person develops a fever the body needs this fever to fight off an infection. A homeopathic remedy supports what the body needs to do to achieve homeostasis. Traditional medicine treats with opposites so a person will receive a medication to lower the fever- a opposite affect. But this goes against the bodies wisdom in trying to achieve a balance. It does not heal but simply suppresses the symptoms and does not treat the underlying problem. It may seem very dangerous to give a substance that can cause the same symptoms. Wouldn’t this cause an aggravation? Interestingly this approach helps the body achieve its goal of homeostasis. Once the homeopathic medicine begins to act the body no longer needs the symptoms or disease and the problem is eradicated.

The second law is Herrings Law. This states that the body acquires disease in a certain direction and then disease will leave in the opposite direction. For example patients with skin disease who are treated with steroids with often develop asthma. The disease is pushed deeper into the body leading to a more serious disease. When this same person is treated homeopathically the asthma will improve but the skin condition will return.

The last law is the Law of dilution. This for most people is the most difficult to understand. Homeopathic remedies are diluted to infinitesimal dilutions. How can they work? remember the Law of Similars. We select homeopathic remedies that produce the same action as the disease. We want the homeopathic remedy to act as a gentle catalyst to restore the boy to homeostasis.

I’d like to talk about suppression as an explanation for the increase in eye disease. Unfortunately most modern medicine produces suppression by pushing the disease inward and deeper with the result of more serious problems

The biggest contributor to eye disease, I believe, is big pharma, or the pharmaceutical industry. The largest contributing cause to the increase of all eye disease is suppression produced by modern medicines.

Here are some examples of suppression:

Antibiotics for conjunctivitis
Treatment of chronic blepharitis
Steroid eye drops
Cataract surgery
Laser surgery and injections for retinal disease

Why? The disease is being treated with opposites and thsi casues the disease to be pushed deeper in the body. This will result in a more serious eye problem

Here are some of the side effects or the results of suppression in using steroid eye drops. These are listed by modern medicine as “side effects” but they are the result of suppression

Increase in intraocular pressure, sometimes leading to glaucoma.
Causing cataracts
Infections
Herpes simplex
Corneal ulcers

Glaucoma eye drops can particularly be suppressive when used to lower the intraocular pressure. Glaucoma medications suppress the natural production of aqueous humor, which is essential in transporting oxygen and nutrients to the eye.

There are two homeopathic approaches to viewing glaucoma based on the law of similars. The first is to look at substances that produce similar pathology that is found in glaucoma. These would be substances that cause an elevation of eye pressure and substances that cause atrophy or damage to the optic nerve.

The homeopathic approach to treating eye disease is not new and there’s a strong history of homeopathy in ophthalmology. The New York Ophthalmic Hospital was a homeopathic hospital in 1852 and it was under homeopathic management until 1867. In 1931 it treated over 31,000 patients.

The American Homeopathic Ophthalmology and Otology Society existed from 1877, and was still in existence in 1941.

Here are standard works on ophthalmology by homeopaths. For example Homeopathic Therapeutics in Ophthalmology, published in 1916 by John L. Moffat, M.D., and Ophthalmic Diseases and Therapeutics, which was published in 1872 by A.B. Norton, M.D.

Both of these books along with other published articles support the benefit of homeopathy in the treatment of glaucoma

There is a list of substances which have been shown to be effective in the lowering of elevated eye pressure. It is important to note that there is just not one substance to lower the intraocular pressure. As homeopaths we look at the whole person all symptoms: mental emotional and physical. So perhaps 100 people with glaucoma might each need a different homeopathic remedy

My interest in treating glaucoma is to find remedies that are effective in reversing or stopping the damage to the optic nerve. A good example of the homeopathic approach of optic nerve damage is to review a condition called toxic amblyopia. This is a toxic reaction in the orbital portion (papillomacular bundle) of the optic nerve which is caused by various toxic and nutritional factors. Toxic amblyopia is usually bilateral and symmetric (similar to glaucoma damage) In alcoholics, undernutrition may be the underlying cause. Other substances which can damage the optic nerve are tobacco, lead, methanol, chloramphenicol, digoxin, ethambutol, DDT, aniline dyes and many other chemicals including many over the counter and prescription drugs.

Most of the above substances are listed in the homeopathic literature as being effective in the treatment of glaucoma

My experience has lead me to believe that petrochemicals from plastic are a big contributing factor to diseases of the optic nerve. We are bombarded with plastic products. Plastic water bottles, plastic storage containers, plastic wrap and even microwaving in plastic. Studies have shown that plastic produces harmful chemical products that are leaching into our food and water. In the homeopathic literature many of these products are listed as remedies for the treatment of optic nerve damage.

Homeopathy can be extremely helpful in the treatment of glaucoma. Please remember that glaucoma can be a very serious disease. Typically I do not stop glaucoma medication until I observe a pressure lowering effect with the proper homeopathic medication. Even then I will gradually monitor the pressure as the glaucoma drops are tapered.