Astigmatism

Overview

Astigmatism is a very common condition of poor eyesight that is characterized by the cornea of the eye becoming oval or football-shaped, rather than round, which is normal and required for good eyesight. The word astigmatism itself come from the Greek a, meaning “without,” and stigma, meaning “point”. In cases of astigmatism, light rays do not form a single point of focus as they enter the eye, causing the eye to focus on two points instead of one.

Symptoms

Because rays of light become distorted as they enter the eyes of people with astigmatism, the most common symptoms of this condition are blurred vision, as well as eye pain, fatigue, and headaches. In addition, straight lines may appear wavy or crooked, and lines going in one direction may seem clearer than lines going in another direction (such as horizontal lines compared to lines that are vertical).

Shortcomings of Conventional Astigmatism Treatments

The main conventional treatments available for astigmatism are corrective prescription lenses or surgery. Both are not without shortcomings, however, and can potentially result in serious complications.

Corrective Prescription Lenses—Corrective lenses in the form of glasses or contact lenses are the most commonly prescribed conventional treatment for astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness. While they can certainly improve symptoms caused by all three of these vision disorders, they can also worsen them as well, and usually do over time, by leading to long-term dependency on lens wearing due to decreased sensitivity of the eye muscles that result from wearing corrective lenses. Other side effects of corrective lenses include increased sensitivity to artificial light, and loss of depth of perception.

Contact lenses can cause additional problems, including a significant increase in the risk of developing microbial keratitis, an infectious condition characterized by inflammation of the cornea.

Surgery—In recent years, surgical procedures to correct astimatism and far- and nearsightedness have become popular. The two main types of surgeries for this purpose are Lasik surgery and photorefractive keratomy (PRK). Lasik surgery is conducted using an extremely thin blade, with which the surgeon cuts a flap near the top of the cornea. A laser is then employed to burn away part of the cornea, after which the cornea flap is reattached. PRK also reshapes the cornea using a laser, without the need for first creating a cornea flap, but usually requires a longer waiting period before patients experience improvements in their vision.

Though many patients report improved vision after undergoing Lasik and PRK surgeries, both procedures can cause the following side effects:

Free radical damage caused by the laser that can result in an unhealthy thinning of the cornea and damage to its structural integrity.

Chronic dry eye due to a diminished capacity to produce tears.

A sensation of halos around lights.

Impaired visual acuity.

Tear in and detachment of the retina.

Holes in the macula (the central region of the retina), which lead to macular degeneration.

Damage to the optic nerve.

Causes

The primary cause of astigmatism is a distortion of the cornea, causing it to become oval in shape, losing its natural roundness. Poor posture and a tendency to tilt the head for long periods of time (a tendency for many violinists) can also be significant contributing factors.

Do

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Diet

Avoid all processed and fried foods,

Avoid all sugar and sugar products.

Avoid refined, simple carbohydrates

Avoid alcohol

Avoid unhealthy hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.

Avoid conventional flesh foods and overcooked/grilled meats.

Milk and dairy products should be consumed sparingly, and preferably raw and organic.

Emphasize a diet of organic, whole foods, with a daily abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Focus on vegetables foods rich in antioxidants such as red, orange and purple bell peppers, carrots, celery, dark-green leafy vegetables such as chard, kale, collard, spinach and richer colored green leaf lettuces, parsley, tomatoes and yellow squash.

Fruits high in anti-oxidants include berries, especially raw or juiced Acai berries, Goji berries and dark colored berries, purple and red grapes, plums, cherries, mangos, melons and citrus fruits.

For a sweet treat or to help curb chocolate cravings, enjoy the anti-oxidant rich unsweetened cacoa. Mixed with natural sweeteners such as raw honey or agave syrup, cacoa is a scrumptious alternative to the typical refined sugar in conventional chocolate products.

Organic egg yolks are also recommended because they are rich in carotenoids, an important class of antioxidants. It is best to eat soft, rather than hard cooked egg yolks to preserve the heat sensitive valuable carotenoids. Soft boiled, poached, sunny side up, or raw eggs are best. Raw eggs may be eaten if they come from a reliable organic source and are washed prior to cracking. Samonella travels on the shell of the egg and enters the egg from the outside, so washing eggs with hot sudsy water minimizes exposure.

Proper hydration is also essential for maintaining the suppleness of the eyes’ lenses.

Drink plenty of pure, filtered water throughout the day, at least half your body weight in ounces, to help flush out accumulated debris in the eye drainage channels.

Fresh raw green juices are also an important addition to one`s daily food plan. See the recipe section for green juice suggestions.

Test for food allergies and sensitivities and eliminate those foods that test positive.

Supplements:

Take Vitamin D3 50,000-100,000 International Units a day .
Wholefood supplements are the best way of ensuring your nutritional needs are met. The best we know on the market is Kevin Trudeau’s “KT Daily” product. You can find more details here.

Nutritional Supplementation: Useful nutrients include vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, flavonoids, lutein, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), riboflavin, selenium, taurine, zeaxthanin, and zinc.

Prescription and non-prescription medication:

What non-prescription and prescription drugs are you taking? Your non-prescription and prescription are partially the reason that you have this illness or disease – you need to get off these medications but do so only under the guidance of a licensed health care practitioner.