Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is one of the genetically passed on eye diseases which sometimes expresses itself from childhood, or might stay repressed for a good part of one’s life, till the later years. It is a degenerative condition usually leading to blindness, caused by the rod cells which lose their ability to respond to light. Ayurvedic treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa is seen to be effective to a great extent in improving the quality of vision and preventing further deterioration along with treatment.
Symptoms
The most prominent system and generally seen as the most common is tunnel vision among affected eyes, with loss in peripheral vision coming a close second. Eyes affected with Retinitis Pigmentosa find it hard to see at night or in decreased light and have prominent color vision defects too. What is also observed that though symptoms do appear in the early years, difficulties in vision do not actually start affecting the persons till adulthood.
Causes
Observed as a cumulative effect of a lot of genetic defects which start with the night vision-cells being affected the most and the retinal cone cells are seen damaged. The main sign of the disease is the presence of dark deposits in the retina.
Retinitis Pigmentosa treatment in Ayurveda
Ayurvedic treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa include a host of treatments, the right combination and frequency of which is decided upon a personal consultation, assessment and diagnosis of the affected. As with all ayurvedic treatments, it differs from person to person. Common forms of Ayurvedic treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa include Snehapana ( intake of high quantity of medicated ghee in increasing order of quantity gradually) with Jeevanthyadi grutha , Mahathriphala ghrutha, Patoladi grutha, Nasya with Ksheerabala thaila , Madhookadi thaila, Ksheerabala 101 Avarthi etc along with Moordhithaila with Ksheerabala thailam , Anjana with Choornithanjanam, Usheeranjanam and Snehana putapaka. Thalam ( retention of medicated paste or oil right on the vertex ), Sirodhara (where herbal oil, medicated milk, medicated butter milk etc, are poured on the forehead in a specified manner), Thalapothichil (the application of herbal paste on the scalp of a patient) are other treatment procedures which are usually doing for RP patient according their condition of illness. With all these procedures it is possible to arrest the degeneration process. The active ingredients of the medicines provide nourishment to retina thus restoring the vision.
It is seen in majority of cases that with this course of Ayurvedic eye treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa (R.P.), present vision status is maintained and also improved in some of the cases. Patients feel more clarity in vision.