We take our five senses for granted — until age begins to steal them away.  One sense we particularly want to guard is our eyesight.  I know this, because I was recently diagnosed with glaucoma, one of the eye diseases that is usually age-related.

Glaucoma happens when the fluid in your eyes builds up and puts pressure on your optic nerve.  The nerve is eventually worn down and damaged irreparably by the pressure.  First you lose peripheral vision, and then the rest of it eventually goes. Blindness.

I certainly don’t want that to happen, so readily agreed to treatment.  My ophthalmologist is a prominent eye surgeon, so he recommended a simple laser treatment that would take only minutes, involve no pain, have no down time, and would fix the problem permanently with no need for medicine.  Since I always develop reactions to eyedrops, I jumped for this solution.

And was very sorry I did.  MOST people have no trouble with this simple surgery. It involves shooting the “mesh” which controls the fluid flow with a laser.  The body’s natural immune system would cause white blood cells to flock to the site and clean up the mesh while they are there.  Unclogged mesh would allow the fluid to flow as it should, and no more problem.

I have a REALLY good immune system, though, and it went into overdrive. The white blood cells arrived in hordes to do their job and I had a swollen, painful eye that was not just bloodshot, but Christmas red.  I looked like Popeye the Vampire!  It was a dreadful experience and took a couple of weeks to return to normal.

Not wanting to repeat the performance on the other eye, I did what I should have done originally. I started researching natural cures and prevention for glaucoma.  There are masses of sites with suggestions.  However, I want to hurry and say that glaucoma isn’t something to fool with.  My doctor (who is awesome!) agreed to work with me on natural cures and I am having my pressures checked regularly.  Since the disease is at an early stage, I can afford to do this. If your doctor says you need immediate treatment, you probably can’t afford to shop around for alternatives.

More tomorrow on things you can do to naturally protect your eyesight.

Eating to live and living for Christ,

Susan Jordan Brown