This week, our speaker was Dr. Marc Grossman, O.D., L.A.c, one of the few holistic optometrist and licensed acupuncturists in the world. Dr. Grossman spoke about Integrative Optometry and the importance of the whole person approach to eye care. In many Asian countries like China and Japan, young adolescents have a 80-90% incidence of nearsightedness, likely due to the increased use of computer screens. This is concerning because vision is our dominant sense and it is crucial that we do not abuse our eyes. Dr. Grossman also emphasizes the goals of Integrative Medicine, which include bringing patients into the journey of healing, instead of giving away their decision making power to doctors. Because Integrative Medicine strives for patients and doctors to be partners, Integrative Medicine is not medicine of the future, but of the people.
Dr. Grossman also provided some insight into the integrative ideologies of eye care. The right eye is the male, masculine eye and the left eye is the female, feminine eye. In cases of psycho-emotional cataracts where patients dealing with trauma related to a close, male figure, patients often develop cataracts on their right eye (male eye). Additionally, Dr. Grossman explained that our eye is brain tissue and is deeply connected to the mind. This is why people with multiple personality disorders have different eyeglass prescriptions. Furthermore, he shows us some trigger points for vision. Two trigger points that can cause blurriness are the Splenius Cervicis muscle, which is located in the neck, and Sternocleidomastoid, whose top layer runs from behind the ear to the sternum.
In Integrative eye care, many lifestyle changes like yoga and eye exercises are implemented to try to prevent chronic eye diseases. Follow this link for a free eye exercise booklet! In the words of Dr. Grossman, hopefully this gives you some “insight to your eyesight!”
Fun facts:
Blue light comes through screens and can cause eye strain and affects sleep cycle.
A great food for eyes is kale because it has the highest amount of lutein.
Contact lenses allow for bigger peripheral vision (versus glasses) but may dry out eyes more.
Warm neck compresses (soaked in chamomile) can help prevent or reverse astigmatism by releasing the tension in neck muscles.
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