Retinitis Pigmentosa is a type of eye disease that causes damage to the retina of the eye. Mostly an inherited disease, this causes the cells that control the night vision to be affected. The most common symptoms to detect this condition are night blindness also known as nyctalopia, damage to tunnel vision where the peripheral and central vision gets limited, latticework vision, an aversion to glare, vision blurring, slow and difficult adjustment from a light environment to dark environment and also vice versa, difficulty in separating colours and unusual tiredness.
If one or more of these symptoms occur, it is in the best interest to see an eye physician as ignoring it might lead to partial or complete blindness in most cases. The physician can determine the occurrence of this condition by a few simple tests. Some of the examination procedures include, dilation of the pupil and checking via ophthalmoscopy, testing for the colour vision and visual acuity, fluorescein angiography, electroretinogram which involves measuring the retinal electrical activity, intraocular pressure, reflex response time of the pupil, refraction test, photographic images of retina and pupil, testing the side vision and slit lamp check-up.
If detected at an early stage, the eye treatment in Ayurveda can substantially reduce the risk on the condition aggravating further. Being the oldest form of non-invasive treatment method, Ayurveda has been said to treat the root cause of the diseases which prevents them from either relapsing or spreading. Some of the widely practiced variations that Ayurveda suggests for this treatment are medicated ghee intake with Jeevanthyadi grutha, application of herbal pastes on the scalp or vertex and pouring medicated milk or medicated herbal oil on the patient’s forehead. Since this disease is a hereditary and genetic condition, a complete recovery is not guaranteed; however Ayurveda can help to keep the condition in check and in some rare cases also reverse its occurrence to a certain extent.
