Acupuncture for Dry Eyes
Dry eyes will happen when tears aren’t be able to produce enough moisture and lubrication for the eyes. There are three layers of the tear film:
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Inner Mucus layer – closest layer to the cornea.
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watery middle layer – this layer helps protect the cornea, hydrates the eyes, and repel bacteria
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Outer Lipid layer – this superficial layer provides a smooth optical surface for the eyes and prevent water evaporation from the other layers.
What causes Dry Eyes?
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Age - The natural aging process is more common in people over 50 years old and in menopause.
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Autoimmune conditions - Like most eye conditions, dry eyes is often related to health conditions in the rest of the body such as Rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, thyroid, Sjogren, Blepharitis, Lupus. (1)
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Side effects from medications such as antihistamines, decongestants, hormone replacement therapy, antidepressants, etc.. (2) or laser eye surgery.
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Dehydrate drinks: coffee, green tea, red bull.
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Tech neck: too much time on the smartphones, computer, laptop, ipad, notebooks, etc.
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Vitamin A deficiency
How can Acupuncture and Herbal medicine treat dry eyes?
While conventional treatment offer some form of over the counter artificial tears, they may provide temporary relief. However, the preservatives can make the symptom worse and can even kill corneal cells. Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal medicine address the dry eyes symptoms according to the different internal imbalance. With Micro Acupuncture 48, we are able to stimulate the glands around the eyes and to increase the oil production. Currently, we are using natural oils Lipovision Drops to combat dry eye conditions for much quicker and effective results.
Note: There is no needles go into the eye.
Procedure of treatment:
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Treat every other day or three days per week,
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Chronic condition will need 3 - 5 course of treatments (10 treatment per course)
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Maintenance can be done in 1 - 2x week
Sources:
(1) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-eyes/symptoms-causes/syc-20371863
(2) https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/eye-health-dry-eyes#1
Picture credit: https://nei.nih.gov/health/dryeye/dryeye
