As per the statistics of the Glaucoma Research Foundation, about 3 million Americans suffer from glaucoma and almost half of them are not aware of the issue. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the US and about 10% of patients experience loss of vision, even after getting proper treatment for the disease. Let us see what it is and how CBD can be used in glaucoma treatment.
Understanding Glaucoma
It is an eye malady that can lead to an increase in ocular fluid pressure. The cause of primary glaucoma is largely unknown to the scientific world. Lack of timely treatments results in loss of vision. However, secondary glaucoma can be caused by conditions like diabetes, cataract, tumor, or inflammation. Some of the common risk factors of glaucoma include age, conditions like hypothyroidism, injuries to the eyes, ethnicity, and eye surgery. Glaucoma is much prevalent among African-Americans and they are much likely to become blind from glaucoma when compared to Caucasians.
CBD For Glaucoma
There is no permanent cure for glaucoma available and no specific clinical trials are available to prove the effectiveness of using CBD for glaucoma. However, many studies have shown that cannabis as a whole can be a very effective treatment for glaucoma. A study conducted in 1971 revealed that cannabis lessened intraocular pressure by nearly 30%. However, while using cannabis to treat glaucoma, you need to use it every few hours as the effects won’t last long. Using cannabis frequently might not be practical for many people. Even though cannabis has a low addiction rate, using it more than six times a day can increase the risk of developing a dependence.
This is where CBD comes to help. CBD is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid present in the marijuana plant, and as per the result of some researches, CBD is as effective as THC for the treatment of glaucoma. CBD can be used to control ocular pressure without making the user high and for this reason, it can be used frequently to control glaucoma and related problems.
Properly administering CBD can potentially lower the intraocular pressure and offer protection to the retinal cells of the eye. In addition, the vasorelaxant properties of CBD can increase blood flow in the eyes and the anti-inflammatory properties of CBD can offer relief from not just glaucoma, but also other types of inflammatory eye conditions. In addition, CBD products do not have any side effects and can be used without the fear of addiction or side effects.
