Ayurvedic Management of Unilateral Loss of Vision Following a Blunt Injury to Eye: A Case Report

A 45-year-old previously healthy male suffered a major visual setback following a blunt injury to his left eye. The vision in the affected eye was lost immediately and did not return after the resolution of initial inflammation. His retinal examination revealed a subretinal hemorrhage with an area of chorioretinal atrophy in the left macula. A 3-month trial of conventional therapy, consisting of hemostatics, antioxidants, steroids, and vitamin A, was of no avail except for the return of vision to finger-counting ability. An optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) conducted at 3 months revealed hyper-reflectivity and irregularity at retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) Bruch’s membrane complex and decreased retinal thickness. Ayurvedic therapy was started at this time. At a 3-month treatment follow-up (6 months following the injury), there was a remarkable improvement in vision in the left eye, which was observed as 6/18 on the Snellen chart. After a total of 6 months of Ayurvedic therapy followed by 6 months of withdrawal, a subsequent follow-up found the vision in the patient’s left eye to be 6/12. OCT and an FFA done at this time was marked by substantial improvements in the RPE Bruch’s membrane complex. Ayurvedic therapy seems to have contributed substantially to the improved vision, which had been lost completely following a blunt injury to the left eye.