Can I Use Eye Drops to Treat Cataract?
March 24, 2010
Just recently I was diagnosed with cataract. I found a lot of suggestions coming mostly from Europe regarding using eye drops to inhibit development of cataract. However, after I read your comments I am very doubtful if I can start using them. My questions are:
1) If you have a scientific article that are showing benefit or harm of using drops when you have cataract. I would love to read it.
2) Do you think that application of eye drops can be harmful if you have the first stage of cataract development?
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5 Responses to “Can I Use Eye Drops to Treat Cataract?”
Hey Dr Ari Weitzner… also, they’ve had eyedrops for cataracts from Alcon in Latina America and Europe (Quinax or Lutrax)
you know what would be nice?- why not put a cataract drop in the eye of someone who is going to have cataract surgery. when the surgeon makes an incision, let him send a drop of the eye fluid to the lab and see if any of this “medicine” actually penetrates the eye! for all we know, the cataract drop does not penetrate the eye at all! in fact, it is very difficult to formulate any kind of drop that can penetrate the eye- that’s what the big pharma companies work on all the time- how to formulate drugs that can penetrate the cornea and get into the eye.
thats what i mean by science. trust me- the company that makes this cataract drop did not do any kind of serious research like this. anybody can take an anti-oxidant, and put it in a cream or a drop. that doesnt mean that when you put it on your skin or or eye, that it penetrates or does any good. there are plenty of creams out there with collagen, or anti-oxidants etc., but there is little proof that they are any better than vaseline, as the skin is very good at keeping stuff out. that’s why doctors have to inject collagen.
i am growing tired of this line of thought. it is utterly specious and non-responsive.
the bottom line remains the same- we live in the age of science where we demand scientific proof that things work. period.
even acupuncture, which has hundreds of years of experience, has been shown to be NO BETTER THAN PLACEBO.
the brain is enormously powerful- it can affect our health greatly. we have to be careful not to confuse the medicine we take with the placebo effect. even soldiers at war can get relief of pain from a gunshot wound from placebo.
can medicines kill people? of course. the argument that medicine is harmful to people is ridiculous. cars kill people everyday- but who is not driving??
of course we should minimize the morbidity that medicines can wreck. no one is arguing that. and of course, people should do whatever it takes to make themselves healthy without medicine. again, no one argues these “straw men” arguments.
if someone wants to reject western medicine and stick to alternatives- go for it! and good luck with that!
but the vast majority of people understand that everything in this world has pluses and minuses, and they would like to know which is better. the only way to know is not via anecdotes, but science.
if millions of people do “a”, that is not evidence that it’s smart or correct.
the people who swear by these cataract drops- go ahead, and give 250 patients the drops, and give another 250 dummy drops, and have a third party examine them over the next 1-2 years, and we’ll see if they work. the fact that this very, very simple study is not conducted and published in a reputable journal says it all.
to suggest that there is some kind of conspiracy, that doctors and big pharma are manipulating the world and pushing drugs, when alternative, natural remedies are out there and are just as good—i will not honor that suggestion with any response. it’s too silly.
The thing is that this is a website from doctors. They have been taught what is ‘right’ and that’s about as far as it goes, they are blind and deaf to alternatives. What they were taught by the mainstream is all they preach.
Most doctors are too busy or too tired to try to think outside the box, they have been indoctrinated by an education which is funded by the medical / pharmaceutical companies whose practices the doctor will regurgitate like a parrot.
I’m sure their intentions are good but its about time they woke up a little to different ways of thinking. It is very much ‘our way or the highway’.
This approach to health is becoming dated. Health and Wellness is the biggest and fastest growing industry worldwide. Why? Because a huge amount of people do not agree or trust the ‘professional’s’ opinion, why should they, when the truth is at your fingers via the net. Make your own mind up, use your God given right to do what’s best for you.
Dr Ari says the drops are snake oil. Has he tried or tested them? Does he understand what they do? Does he not agree with the role of anti-oxidants? In another comment made on this site, the doc states, ‘cataracts are inevitable’. Are they? If so, why and what can be done about this? This comment sums up the dinosaur that is the medical establishment – they simply cannot accept that prevention is better than cure. Why should they? They would be out of business if they even dared to utter these words.
Why cannot a natural super anti-oxidant eye drop help the eye heal itself, even in the case of cataract?
A doc cannot accept a different opinion to their own. Sad really. The business of medicine has a tight hold on these guys. Illegal drugs kill very few people when comparing them to prescription drugs thrown at people after a brief and expensive consultation. In the US alone, a couple of years ago prescription meds killed nearly 200,000 people.
I would always try any alternative to the mainstream and only use them as a last resort. So when a doc throws out a soundbite like the one above, think about it rather than just accepting it.
Oh and I used such drops on my dog who had cataracts and guess what? They worked!
eye drops for cataract is pure snake oil. stay away- you will simply be poorer, and will not see better. i doubt the drops will hurt, though, so if you have a lot of cash to burn, go for it.
