European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TOWARDS THE REFRACTIVE ERROR; A REVIEW

Shweta Tiwari*, Kirti Patel, Upendra Bhadoriya

ABSTRACT

Refractive error is one of the common problems of modern man. This all may be due to the changes in lifestyle and extensive use of computers. Refractive error involves problem of refraction. Normally parallel rays of light focuses over the retina through which the normal perception of image is attained. In refractive errors the correct focusing of light rays doesn’t happen over the retina results in blurring of vision and various other symptoms due to the over straining of eyes like headache, excessive lacrimation and deep seated orbital pain. Refractive errors can be classified as myopia (short sightedness), hypermetropia (long sightedness) and astigmatism. In myopia focusing will be in front of the retina due to which the person experiences difficulty in seeing distant objects, where as in hypermetropia, near vision will be impaired due to the delayed focusing of light rays. Astigmatism is the distorted image formation due to the scattered focusing of light rays. The Ayurveda possesses various treatment approaches for the curing of refractive errors including utilization of herbal formulation, yoga and change in life style. This article summarizes some options as per ayurveda for the treatment of refractive errors.

Keywords: Refractive errors, Ayurveda, Astigmatism, Myopia.