Essential Oil Treatment for Glaucoma

A leading cause of blindness, glaucoma often goes unnoticed for years until its impairs vision. Glaucoma vision loss is irreversible, but some natural oils can support eye health.

What Is Glaucoma?

• Poor circulation of the eye's aqueous fluid causes build-up and damages the important optic nerve. Glaucoma refers to eye diseases that cause such damage, often due to elevated pressure in the eye.

Fatty Acids

• Recent studies conducted by The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology showed increasing consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids lead to decreased eye pressure by facilitating circulation.

Evening Primrose Oil

• Evening primrose oil helps with glaucoma because it contains four to 16 percent gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). According to raysahelian.com, an oil supplement website, it's an Omega-6 fatty acid that counters cells that restrict blood flow to the eye.

Borage Oil

• Borage oil has about 22 percent GLA, providing one of the highest yields in the botanical kingdom, according to raysahelian.com. It is cold-pressed oil from the borage flower.

Black Seed Currant Oil

• Black seed currant oil contains the second highest amount of GLA at 15 to 20 percent, although evening primrose and borage oils are the main essential oils used in studies.

Warning

• Never put oil drops directly in the eyes. To treat glaucoma, take oil capsules orally.