Anterior Uveitis and management in Ayurveda - A Case Study

Abstract

Anterior uveitis is inflammation of the Uveal tissue from iris upto Pars plicata of ciliary body, which is a common cause for painful red eye. It usually affects people of 20 -50 years of age and account for 10 -15% of cases of legal blindness in developed countries. Depending on the clinical presentation it can be categorised as Iritis, Cyclitis or iridocyclitis. It is typically characterized by photophobia, pain, ciliary congestion, Blurred vision, Keratic precipitates, Aqueous flare and cells and often pooled with Auto immune diseases. If untreated, it can cause permanent visual loss and serious complications such as glaucoma, cataract, and cystoid macular oedema, Retinal detachment. Reducing the inflammation with the help of steroids, Immunosuppressant (topically, systematically) are the treatments indicated in contemporary science but these have their own side-effects and many entities are such that the recurrence rates are very high in spite of treatment or will be non-responsive. So it is coherent to adopt Ayurvedic treatment principles to resolve the ailment securely and to overcome the magnitudes of recurrence. The clinical features of Anterior Uveitis simulates to Pittaja and Raktaja Adhimanta to a greater extent and treatment modalities can be adopted based on Doshas and Samprapthi involved. In this paper, a special case report of a 51 years old male patient with Anterior Uveitis who showed marked improvement with Ayurvedic management is presented. The possible role of Ayurveda in its management and mode of action is also discussed here.