How Medical Marijuana Can Help Glaucoma Patients

How Medical Marijuana Can Help Glaucoma Patients?

Medical marijuana has proven to be effective against many ailments ranging from seizures to mental illness. But, is cannabis effective in Glaucoma let’s find out. Marijuana has been known to reduce eye pressure which is one of the causes of glaucoma. Here in this blog, we will see how medical marijuana can help glaucoma patients.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a disease which affects the optic nerve pressure. Fluid buildup occurs in the eye due to the increased pressure and this damages the optic nerve and impairs vision or leads to blindness.

It mostly affects people over 60, especially African Americans, people taking corticosteroids medications or with a family history of glaucoma. There are two types of Glaucoma: open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma.

Primary Open Angle Glaucoma: This is the most common type of glaucoma. In this, the eye’s drainage canals become blocked, and the fluid gets accumulated, and pressure is built within the eye. Vision loss is usually slow and gradual without any warning signs.

Angle-closure glaucoma: It is less common than POAG. In this condition, eye pressure rises quickly and also be triggered by pupil dilation. If you start experiencing any of these symptoms like sudden eye pain, nausea, headache and blurred vision, then you need medical help. This leads to rapid blindness and needs medical attention.

Can cannabis treat Glaucoma?

1970’s studies have shown that marijuana can alleviate glaucoma-related symptoms. Cannabinoids which are found in cannabis lower the intraocular pressure (IOP) and have neuroprotective properties. In the context of this, 1971 study revealed that marijuana reduces IOP by 25 to 30 %. In addition to this, THC was found useful in keeping the intraocular pressure low.

Also, in the last ten years, it has been found that eye tissue contains some active components those are found in cannabis. These compounds offer some protection to nerve cells.

Marijuana lowers blood pressure which can restrict the blood flow to the optic nerve. However, marijuana can’t be seen as an ideal treatment for early-stage patients, but for the later stages, it can be considered as a treatment. The main reason behind this is during a later stage, marijuana could help with the pain and nausea.

Other methods of delivering THC: The other means of delivering THC to eye tissue are through eye drops, by mouth or under the tongue, etc.

There are various cannabinoid receptors present in the ocular tissues which are responsible for regulating intraocular pressure. In future, cannabinoidderived medications could be developed that help in lowering IOP and protecting retinal cells.

Still, a lot of research and various scientific trials are needed to use cannabis at a therapeutic level. But, if you are suffering from anxiety or stress, you can consult your 420 doctors and get 420 medical evaluations by the cannabis specialist. Medical evaluation is also available in Orange County all you need to create an account and fill the form online on medicalmarijuanacardorangecounty.com

Thanks for your Time BYOnline Medical Marijuana Card - 420 Evaluations Orange County (949) 272-0678