When you think about the benefits of weed, we bet you probably don’t think about eye health. However, research shows that weed works similarly to many glaucoma medications to reduce intraocular pressure, a common risk factor for the disease.
Before you attempt to treat glaucoma and eye health naturally with cannabis or DMT, many eye doctors are asking you to think again. In this article, we will discuss the connection between weed and glaucoma, what health professionals say, and how you can use CBD to improve eye health.
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma refers to a group of eye diseases that may cause blindness and affect vision by causing damage to the optic nerve, which is located in the back of the eye.
Symptoms of glaucoma can go unnoticed for a long time, making it hard to correctly detect any problems with your vision. Some people only find out that they have glaucoma by getting a detailed eye exam.
According to the National Eye Institute, there is no cure for glaucoma, but early detection and treatment can stop the disease from progressing and possibly save your eyesight.
There are many different types of glaucoma. One of the most common types is called open-angle glaucoma. Other types of glaucoma, such as angle-closure glaucoma and congenital glaucoma, are less common.
Researchers are not sure what causes glaucoma. However, most people with glaucoma have high eye pressure (intraocular pressure).
Treatments are available to lower your intraocular eye pressure, which can help slow the worsening of the disease. To date, there is no way to prevent glaucoma, making eye tests so important.
Can Cannabis Improve Eye Health?
If you have been diagnosed with glaucoma, then your doctor will want you to start treatment right away to save your eyesight or slow down the progression of the disease.
There are a couple of different treatment options for glaucoma, including medication, laser treatments, and surgery. Medications are useful for lowering the pressure in your eyes while laser and surgery treatments are intended to drain the fluid from your eye.
Prescription eye drops are the most common treatment for glaucoma. However, research shows that cannabinoids found in marijuana may help slow the progression of glaucoma by reducing the intraocular pressure in your eyes.
According to one study, cannabis works similarly to many conventional glaucoma medications whether they are administered orally, intravenously, or through inhalation but NOT when applied directly to the eyes.
Research conducted by the National Eye Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that subjects who smoked marijuana or took THC by pill form or infection lowered their intraocular pressure. However, the results only lasted for a short period of three to four hours, and this is a problem when it comes to treating eye diseases.
Essentially, to use marijuana to improve eye health, you would need to smoke it six to eight times a day, according to Craig J. Chaya, MD, a glaucoma specialist at the John A. Moran Eye Center. He noted that smoking marijuana this many times per day would leave you unable to drive a car, operate machinery, and function at your peak abilities. None of these things are a good way to improve eye health – or any disease for that matter.
More research needs to be done to determine if THC can be administered in eye drop form. So far, THC can only be administered in an oil-based drop (as opposed to a water-based drop) and no studies so far have shown this to be an effective way to reduce intraocular pressure. Plus, it may be very irritating to your eyes.
Weed has several other benefits going for it that may be helpful for promoting eye health. Specifically, cannabis has anti-inflammatory properties that can be used to reduce inflammation, which is necessary for warding off many diseases, not just eye diseases.
According to one study, low grade inflammation may play a pathogenic role in the development of glaucoma. Inflammation may also be a contributing factor to other characteristics that increase your risk of developing glaucoma, such as high blood pressure.
There has been no research so far to show that cannabis can prevent inflammatory-induced eye diseases. However, adding more anti-inflammatory foods and herbs to your diet may certainly help fight against inflammation that contribute to disease.
Final Thoughts
Some research shows that cannabis may reduce intraocular eye pressure, which is the most predominant risk factor for developing the eye disease.
It should be noted that cannabis products should NOT be applied directly to your eye, and it’s always best to consult your doctor before using any type of alternative treatment if you have been diagnosed with glaucoma.
However, using cannabis to reduce inflammation via its antioxidant pathways can help fight inflammation that leads to many diseases, including glaucoma. You can take cannabis in oral, pill, capsule, tincture, or vaping form.