Kingston 6

Glaucoma

What is glaucoma? One things for sure, its not just a disease for old people. How do I know? I have glaucoma, and although I'm old in my mind, I'm not old physically.

Glaucoma is the name given to a group of diseases of the optic nerve that causes the destruction of cells in the retina causing loss of vision and eventually blindness. One of the major indicators of the disease is your pressure goes up... but not your blood pressure, your intraocular eye pressure. Think of it like the rains we had in JA recently - the rain fills up the streets and sits certain places and eats out the road, causing major potholes - the harder and more sustained the rain, the bigger the potholes. In my case, if I don't take my eyedrop every night its like the rain would keep falling.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't feel pain or pressure its like a thief in the night. The experts say that after 35 one should start doing the test for glaucoma regularly - my grandfather and grandmother had it, so I was immediately tested as there is a 6% chance of hereditary passage - in the medical world 6% is quite a bit so I strongly recommend checking it out.

Furthermore, recent studies show that staring at your laptop screen or monitor for prolonged periods can cause intraocular pressure to rise. This I feel accelerated my glaucoma to the stage it is now...

So I take my eye medicine every night - its called Xalatan and it only lasts 4 wks, furthermore it is quite expensive. But I'm sure you've all heard the song by Peter Tosh - Bush Doctor, that the herb cures glaucoma. Firstly, glaucoma has no cure, it cannot be reversed, but if the pressure is relieved the damage is reduced (Pothole Free by 2003!) and one can live a full life.
According to numerous sources I've read on the web, Tosh was correct in one respect - the herb does help to lower intraocular pressure. Although Wikipedia.org mentions it, it notes that widescale studies have not been done - in America that is...

Two Jamaican scientists Professor Manley West and Dr. Albert Lockhart, created Canasol - glaucoma medicine based on cannabis in 1983 - it actually goes beyond just lowering intraocular pressure but does something else I can't remember right now, yet no eye doctor that I have seen in Jamaica and mentioned it to, has recommended it to me.

Whats the point of having all these natural resources if we don't utilize them? Research and development is the key to the advancement of society and we are more than capable of innovating with the best in the world. But thats another entry for another day. Hasta la victoria siempre.

posted by damanimichael @ 10:37 AM