Eye health
According to Ayurveda eye is considered one of the most crucial organs: “Sarvendriyanam Nayanam Pradhanam”. Maintaining eye health and effectively treating eye disorders are of utmost importance. Ayurveda has detailed simple yet effective local therapeutic procedures for administering and curing ophthalmic disorders.
The eyes are vital organs in the human body because they facilitate knowledge acquisition, social interaction, and intellectual development through vision. While many people only focus on eye health when problems arise, activities like reading, writing, watching TV, using mobile devices, and working on computers can strain the eyes. Additionally, exposure to artificial light, whether dim or bright, further contributes to the decline in eye health over time.
Eye diseases can be caused by various factors such as exposure to cold water immediately after being heated by sun or fire, prolonged practices of focusing on very distant or very small objects, irregular sleeping patterns, emotional states like anger, sorrow, fear, and excessive exertion, as well as suppressing natural urges such as tears. Continuous exposure to these factors can result in conditions like cataracts, refractive errors such as near sightedness and far sightedness, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, dry eye syndrome, computer vision syndrome, conjunctivitis, stye and other eye disorders.
Ayurveda emphasizes both preventive care and therapeutic measures to slow down degeneration in the retina and focal point, while nourishing visual structures. Once there is a permanent mechanical change in the shape of the eyeball, these changes cannot be reversed. Daily routines (dinacarya) include practices such as applying medicated collyrium (Anjana), massaging the soles of the feet with oil (Padabhyanga), washing the feet (Padaprakshalana), and using an umbrella (Apadatradharana) to maintain eye health.
Suppressing natural urges, particularly tears and sleep, has detrimental effects on the entire body, but especially on the eyes. It can lead to diseases of the eyes due to vataprakopa, which weakens ocular tissues and strains the eyes. Modern lifestyles involving prolonged office work, attending classes, meetings, watching TV, and continuous computer use are common examples of unhealthy habits that often involve suppressing natural urges.
Ayurvedic treatments such as pouring medicated liquids (Seka), applying collyrium (Anjana), therapeutic retention of medicated liquids over the eyes (Tarpana), instillation of medicated juices into the eyes (Putapaka), using eye drops (Aschyotana), applying medicinal boluses on the eyes (Pindi), and applying medicated paste on the outer part of the eyes (Bidalaka) are recommended for various eye conditions.
Yoga practices like nasal cleansing procedures (Netikriya) and candle gazing (Trataka) are beneficial for promoting clear vision. Eye exercises such as palming, swinging, and shifting movements of the eyes also support eye care.