Glaucoma occurs when you have eye pressure that damages the optic nerve. This eye disease does not typically have noticeable symptoms until it significantly damages your vision. Glaucoma requires good eye pressure control to slow the damage to your eye, but many of the prescription medications for glaucoma cause eye irritation. To avoid these side effects, talk with your doctor about supplements such as turmeric in treating glaucoma.
Turmeric
Turmeric, a plant related to ginger, contains antioxidant properties that could prove beneficial in preventing various health problems, including eye diseases such as macular degeneration. Despite the potential benefits of turmeric, research does not yet indicate that turmeric will have any benefit in preventing or treating high eye pressure. If you need help controlling eye pressure, you and your doctor may decide that you should try turmeric. In this case, your doctor will take a baseline pressure reading and have you return for a follow-up a few weeks after you begin using turmeric. Your doctor will compare the pressures, and if your pressure decreases, your doctor may recommend that you continue using turmeric.
Dosage
Turmeric comes in whole root, powdered or extract form. If your doctor recommends turmeric to help you control your eye pressure, she will tell you how much and which form of turmeric to use. As a standard powder, the average dose ranges from 400 to 600 mg, three times a day. The average dose for a liquid extract is between 30 and 90 drops daily.
Eye Pressure Control
Good eye pressure control is the key to preventing glaucoma damage to your optic nerve. This typically involves using one or more glaucoma eye drops, but some people may need an oral medication. Most herbal supplements, including turmeric, will not adequately reduce eye pressure, and a person may still need to take glaucoma medication. If medications and supplements fail to reduce eye pressure to a level that does not damage the eye, a person may need surgery to help the fluid drain from the eye.
Considerations
Avoid starting turmeric or other supplements without first talking to your doctor. If your doctor recommends turmeric, she will have you watch for signs of side effects. Long-term use or a high dose of turmeric may cause stomach upset, including nausea and diarrhea, explains the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
