Coffee linked to glaucoma

• A 120,000-person study has tied drinking three cups per day to developing exfoliation glaucoma.
• About 2.2 million Americans age 40 and older have glaucoma, the second-most common cause of blindness worldwide after cataracts. Glaucoma is the name for a group of diseases in which fluid builds up inside one or both eyes, increasing the internal pressure and eventually damaging the optic nerve. If left untreated, people with glaucoma slowly lose their peripheral vision. Over time, central vision can also deteriorate.

This is what ophthalmologists see when they look in your eyes. The bright little circular part in the center is the optic nerve. They look for changes in its shape when diagnosing glaucoma

PROBLEM: A group at Harvard School of Public Health -- who'd previously conducted a smaller study that associated caffeine with a somewhat increased risk of primary glaucoma -- noted that people in Scandinavian countries have the highest rates of exfoliation glaucoma (EG) in the world, and that they also consume the most coffee. In an ongoing search for causes of EG, they suspected the two might be related. That was corroborated by knowledge that caffeine affects levels of homocysteine in our eyes, and that homocysteine levels are often high in people with EG.

A little on EG: The study's authors note it's "the leading cause of secondary open-angle glaucoma worldwide." It accounts for 7-12 percent of glaucoma. As we understand it, EG is due to pigments in your eye coming loose and blocking the flow of liquid out of your eyeball, which leads to increased pressure, changes in the optic nerve, and/or vision problems. A diagnosis of EG doesn't mean vision loss, though.

Lots of research on the causes of EG is happening. The stated purpose of this study was to look at risk factors for developing it. 

RESULTS: People who drank three or more cups of coffee every day were significantly more likely to have exfoliation glaucoma.
They didn't report on an association with actual vision loss.
The trend "did not robustly extend to caffeinated product consumption generally."

CONCLUSION: Drinking a lot of coffee is associated with increased risk of developing exfoliation glaucoma, and thereby a risk of impaired vision and blindness.

IMPLICATION: This is a large, prospective study worth factoring into the increasingly expansive discussion on coffee's plusses and minuses. "Life without life's joys is living death." And then, buried in the paper was this little gem: "The highest caffeine consumers were somewhat less likely to have hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and myocardial infarction."

Takeaway, get screened for glaucoma regularly, even if you've never had any coffee ever. There were 44.8 million people with open-angle glaucoma in the world in 2010,  and by 2020 there will be 58.6 million. We can't jump to saying this glaucoma-coffee association is definitely causal and that no one should drink coffee. I'm actually drinking some very bad coffee right now. If, for the time, though, these findings promote glaucoma awareness and continued research on the tremendous amounts of coffee and caffeine we drink/eat/rub all over our bodies, it's useful and good.

Red eye relief : Similasan Redness & Itchy Eye Relief Eye Drops

Similasan Redness & Itchy Eye Relief Eye Drops 

Relieves Redness, Itching, Stinging, & Irritation

No Harsh Vasoconstrictors

Homeopathic

• target.com: .33 fl oz / $8.69

Active ingredients

• Apis Mellifica 6.0x Euphrasia Officinalis (Eyebright) 6.0x Pulsatilla 6.0x Sabadilla 6.0x

Purpose

stinging, burning, itching redness, irritation itching, burning, redness, watering watering, redness of lids

Inactive ingredients

Borate Buffer, Purified Water, Silver Sulfate (As Preservative), Sodium Nitrate

 

How Similasan Products Work
Similasan products stimulate the body to heal itself by utilizing "microdilutions" of the 100% Natural Active Ingredients. This system of medicine is known as homeopathy.

In the production of Similasan homeopathic medicines, their 100% Natural Active Ingredients (originating from mineral, plants or animals) undergo a process of serial dilution. This complex terminology simply means that Similasan creates a very weak dilution, or a microdilution of the ingredient. Technically, a solution’s concentration is represented by an "X." For example, an ingredient diluted to the level of 6X contains 0.0000001% of the active ingredient. This homeopathic mode of action is similar in theory to a conventional allergy or flu shot, yet the 100% Natural Active Ingredients in homeopathic products are much more dilute, and are safe for all ages.

Similasan is often asked why some ingredients, such as apis (honey bee), belladonna and mercurius are used? After all, these substances can trigger significant reactions when used in strong concentrations. This is true. In homeopathy however, the dosages are not concentrated enough to poison the body. The body’s immune system reacts to the ingredients by triggering the immune system to heal the underlying problem. For example, a microdilution of honey bee will trigger the body to fight symptoms such as burning, stinging and swelling, which are in many cases, the symptoms of allergy.

In summary, homeopathy is a completely unique way of treating ailments. Rather than imposing a chemical drug on the body with the hope of temporarily masking symptoms, homeopathic 100% Natural Active Ingredients attempt to stimulate a physiological reaction of the body's healing mechanisms. In other words, homeopathy encourages the body to maintain proper health by imposing a gentle stimulus, and letting your system do the rest. 

History of Homeopathy
Homeopathy is derived from the Greek words homeo, meaning similar, and pathos, meaning suffering. The principle of homeopathy is based on the Law of Similars. It was Dr. Samuel Hahnemann who discovered the benefits of homeopathy. He pioneered the dilution process still used by all homeopathic formulators. Today, after 200 years of homeopathic drug proving, there is a basis or "pathogenesis" that each formulator and homeopathic practitioner follows when diagnosing and treating patients.

Dr. Samuel Hahnemann: The Father of Homeopathic Medicine
Samuel Hahnemann developed the homeopathic approach to medicine more than 200 years ago. Hahnemann was awarded his doctorate in medicine from the University of Erlangen, Germany in 1779. After practicing medicine for 5 years, he found that conventional medicine at the time was invasive, riddled with side effects, and often did more harm than good. He wanted to develop a system that would serve as a gentle first line of defense.

After reading a 20-page dissertation describing the use of cinchona bark to treat malaria, Hahnemann experimented with this ingredient. To his surprise, he found that cinchona bark actually caused malaria symptoms when taken in large doses. He then hypothesized that cinchona was effective in helping treat malaria due to its ability to cause these symptoms. In subsequent treatments on people suffering from malaria, he confirmed that while cinchona helped, it was very harsh and caused other difficulties. Hahnemann found that diluting the cinchona eliminated it's harsh side effects while maintaining its beneficial healing effects.