Aqueous humor fills the anterior chamber of your eye, and the eye structures continuously produce this clear fluid. As freshly made aqueous enters your eye, some of the older aqueous leaves, draining out through an angle below your iris. If the aqueous does not enter and leave at a similar rate, you may have high eye pressure, which can lead to a condition called glaucoma. Eating fennel will not treat high pressure, but components of this food may have some benefits.
Effects
You have an optic nerve at the back of your eye, a nerve fiber bundle that gathers visual information which the nerve then sends off to your brain to interpret as an image. A high pressure may cause the fluid in the back of the eye to press against the blood vessels that feed and nourish the optic nerve, slowly damaging these sensitive nerve fibers.
A high intraocular pressure does not cause immediate damage. The changes occur gradually, often over many years, and you will not typically know that you have the condition. However, as the condition progresses, you may note that your peripheral vision seems narrower or that you have a missing area of side vision. In advanced or uncontrolled stages, people have "tunnel vision," meaning narrowed vision without any peripheral vision, and this may lead to complete blindness.
Fennel
Food cannot treat or offer any protection against high eye pressure, and this includes eating produce such as fennel, an aromatic, nutrient-rich vegetable. Although eating fennel may not offer any benefits for glaucoma, researchers at the Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research studied the eye pressure effects of eye drops containing fennel extract. The researchers used rabbits for test subjects and found that the solution reduced eye pressure with an effect similar to that of timolol, a commonly used glaucoma medication. As of 2011, researchers have not conducted human-based studies to determine if similar results occur.
Risk Factors
Your risk for having glaucoma increases with age, and African-Americans have a higher incidence of the disease than Caucasians. If someone in your family has glaucoma, this puts you in a higher risk category for having glaucoma. As well, if you have other types of eye disease or a history of an eye injury, these conditions will increase your odds. Certain medications such as corticosteroids may contribute to high pressures.
Considerations
The eye drops prescribed to reduce eye pressure have a long history of causing eye irritation, and some people want to stop using the drops immediately. If you experience uncomfortable symptoms, contact your doctor. Continue to use your prescribed glaucoma medications unless directed by your doctor. Discontinuing use will increase your eye pressure and put you at risk for further damage to your vision, so your doctor will need to determine alternative treatments.
