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Conjunctivitis
refers to the inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin
transparent membrane covering the front of the eye. It is
also known as " sore eyes" and is a very common
form of eye trouble. It spreads from person to person
through direct contract. Overcrowding, dirty surroundings
and unhealthy living conditions can cause epidemics of
this ailment. Symptoms
The eyeball
and under side of the eyelids become inflamed. At first,
the eyes are red, dry and burning. Later, there may be a
watery secretion. IN more serious cases, there is pus
formation. During sleep, this material dries, making the
eye-lashes stick together.
Causes
Medical
science believes that conjunctivitis results from
bacterial infection, viruses or eye-strain. Prolonged
work under artificial light and excessive use of the eyes
in one way or the other no doubt contributes towards the
disease. But its real cause can be traced to a catarrh a
condition of the system resulting from general toxaemia
due to dietetic errors and faulty style of living . The
patient generally suffers from colds or other ailments
indicative of a general catarrhal condition.
The
Cure
The treatment
of conjunctivitis through salves and ointments does not
cure the disease. To be effective, treatment must be
constitutional. A thorough cleansing of the system and
adoption of natural laws in diet and general living alone
can help eliminate conjunctivitis.
The best way to commence the treatment is to adopt an
exclusive fresh fruit diet for about seven days. The diet
may consist of fresh juicy fruits in season such as
apple, orange, pears, grapes, pineapple and grapefruit.
Banana should, however, not be taken. No other foodstuff
should be added to this diet.
Those who have a serious trouble should undertake a juice
fast for three or four days. The procedure is to take the
juice of an orange, in a glass of warm water, if desired,
every two hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nothing else should
be taken as otherwise the value of the fast will be lost.
If orange juice disagrees, carrot juice may be taken. A
warm water enema should be taken daily during the period
of fasting.
The short juice fast may be followed by an all-fruit diet
for further seven days. Thereafter, the patient may adopt
a general diet scheme on the following lines :-
Breakfast : Any
fresh fruits in season, except bananas.
Lunch : Large
mixed raw vegetable salad with whole meat bread or
chapatis and butter.
Dinner : Two
or three steamed vegetables, other than potatoes, with
nuts and fresh fruit.
The patient should avoid
an excessive intake of starchy and sugary foods in the
form of white bread, refined cereals, potatoes, puddings,
pies, pastry, sugar, jams and confectionery, which cause
the general catarrhal condition as well as
conjunctivitis. He should also avoid the intake of
excessive quantities of meat and other protein and fatty
foods, strong tea and coffee, too much salt, condiments
and sauces. Raw juices of certain vegetables, especially
carrots, and spinach, have been found valuable in the
treatment of conjunctivitis. The combined juices of these
two vegetables have proved very effective. 200 ml. of
spinach juice should be mixed with 300 ml. of carrot
juice in this combination.
Vitamin A and B2 have also been found valuable in the
treatment of conjunctivitis. The patient should take
liberal quantities of natural foods rich in these two
vitamins. Valuable sources of vitamin A are : whole milk,
curds, butter, carrots, pumpkin, green leafy vegetables,
tomatoes, mangoes and papaya. Foods rich in vitamin B2
are green leafy vegetables, milk, almonds, citrus fruits,
bananas and tomatoes.
As regards local treatment to the eyes themselves, a cold
foment renders almost immediate relief by chasing away an
overactive local blood supply. The procedure is as
follows :
Fold a small hand towel.
Saturate it with cold water. Squeeze out excess water and
mould toweling gently over both eyes. Cover it with a
piece of warm cloth to retain the temperature. Repeat the
process as soon as the foment gets warmed. Carry out the
procedure for one hour. After terminating the wet pack,
treatment cover the eyes with a dry towel. Lie back and
relax. The damaged eye tissues will quickly return to
normal. The treatment should be repeated every night for
a week, even though the problem may clear up with the
first treatment itself.
Eye
exercises
The eye
muscle exercises outlined in chapter 33 on cataract and
palming outlined in chapter 40 on defective vision are
also beneficial in the treatment of conjunctivitis.
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