Glaucoma is considered one of the chief causes of permanent blindness around the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that around 2.7 million Americans in their 40s and above suffer from the problem. Global estimates put the figure at 60.5 million, which means that the US accounts for 4.5% of the world’s glaucoma issues.
Among members of the African American race, glaucoma is the second cause of blindness after cataracts. Among Caucasians, it is third, right after macular degeneration and cataracts. The good news for everyone, however, is that a Minnesota study carried out between 1965 and 2009 shows that the probability of glaucoma leading to blindness has gone down by 50% within that 45-year span.
At Care Wellness Center, we now have a medical marijuana doctor on staff that can assist you in acquiring medical marijuana for glaucoma conditions. Let’s take a look at this condition and some of the studies showing the efficacy of cannabis in its treatment.
What causes glaucoma?
Put in the simplest terms possible, glaucoma is a group of diseases that destroy the function of the optical nerve. It starts with the buildup of fluids in the front area of the patient’s eye. Over time, this fluid puts pressure on the optic nerve, which eventually destroys it. The major types of the disorder are open angle (painless, takes time to manifest) and narrow angle (acute). While glaucoma has become the number one cause of blindness in older people, doctors suggest that it is treatable if detected early on.
Glaucoma and Medical Marijuana
With the legalization of medical marijuana in states across the country such as Florida, a sharp focus has been placed on what cannabinoids can do for various diseases. It turns out that they are good for glaucoma patients in a number of ways, as reported in studies across the board;
- Pain reduction
Sure, some forms of glaucoma are largely mild, Closed Angle Glaucoma(CAG) causes sudden bursts of pain in the eyeball and can quickly cause loss of vision. Cannabis has documented efficacy when it comes to situations involving pain, pressure and muscle tension, so it is a definite solution. It provides relief to CAG patients, which helps them deal with some of the severe symptoms.
- Anti-inflammatory effects
Doctors believe that mild but persistent inflammation in the trabecular meshwork of the eye is capable of triggering chronic glaucoma. Another variation of glaucoma called inflammatory glaucoma has been found to be the result of uveitis, which is the inflammation of the uvea (the uvea is a highly specialized part of the eye that contains the ciliary body and iris). Both these kinds of problems start with the trabecular meshwork becoming inflamed. Cannabinoids have always been touted as powerful anti-inflammation agents.
- Marijuana is an anti-nauseant
Closed angle glaucoma comes with vomiting and nausea. Cannabinoid components such as THC work to actively suppress vomiting and nausea though a complex process that involves the negative bombardment of the CB1-receptors.
Conventional treatments for glaucoma have included eye drops, medicines and surgery. However, the focus has been slowly turning to medical marijuana. At the moment, the country has an estimated 2.5 million medical marijuana patients. The state of California leads the pack, with a little over 1.53 million patients(these figures are generic and not indicative of what problem each patient is using marijuana for).
At Care Wellness Center in Margate Florida (within minutes of Coral Springs and Coconut Creek), our Medical Marijuana doctor can help qualify you for a recommendation to obtain cannabis and reap its therapeutic benefits…. The process is simple and easy and the upside in terms of what it does therapeutically is immense.
Call us today to get started!
Learn more about the health benefits of cannabis and medical marijuana
Sources
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/585154/us-legal-medical-marijuana-patients-state/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/clinical-updates/ophthalmology/incidence-probability-progression-to-blindness-due-to-open-angle-glaucoma-decreases-dramatically
- https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/medical-marijuana-glaucoma-treament
- https://www.leafly.com/news/health/cannabis-for-glaucoma-treatment
