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Recurrent Uveitis |
Alternative Veterinary Medicine Centre |
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| Alternative Veterinary Medicine Centre Holistic Vet - Homeopathic Vet - Acupuncture Vet - Herbal Vet - Natural Vet Equine Recurrent Uveitis Recurrent Uveitis in Horses and Ponies aka Moonblindness, Periodic Ophthalmia, Recurrent Ophthalmia, ERU An Introduction This condition is very painful and distressing for the horse. It not only threatens eyesight but also threatens to bring the horse to a state in which eye removal is the only option. Aetiology is unknown but we do know that direct sunlight can cause extreme pain. It can also appear to make further attacks more likely. Various other aetiological agents have been discussed or mooted, including Leptospira, Onchocerca and Toxoplasma. There may be an autoimmune component. In natural medicine, we have been privileged to have treated a great many ERU patients, over the years. As a result, we have been able to see and to analyse patterns of disease progress. In the majority of these, symptoms and signs appear either to have been well-controlled or even abolished, using an integrated natural medicine approach. We have never had to resort to surgery for such cases. Some patients require regular repetition of the treatment, whenever a further attack occurs but, under this regimen, attacks appear to become successively less severe and less frequent, until they have ceased in most cases treated (usually by acupuncture with homeopathy in support)). Treatment options used, often combined, have been veterinary acupuncture, veterinary homeopathy, LASER, chiropractic, herbal medicine and natural feeding. Clearly, if the eye (and sight) can be saved, this is a preferable alternative to surgery to remove the eye. Synonyms are Moonblindness, ERU, Periodic Ophthalmia, Recurrent Uveitis, Recurrent Ophthalmia. Stop Press: In the summer of 2009, a new surgical procedure has been announced, called 'vitrectomy'. This is the removal of the gelatinous substance that fills the eye between lens and retina. This is likely to be an extremely costly procedure. If there were no minimum-intervention option available (e.g. acupuncture), I could see why this may be a good plan for a blind horse. However, I'm not sure whether the surgery can do anything to stop the recurrent inflammation episodes and the hope is that prompt treatment with acupuncture etc. will prevent the onset of blindness in the first place. In my opinion, horses that suffer this disease should never be revaccinated. For a fuller account of this topic, see: Horse Diseases - Moonblindness
Alternative Veterinary Medicine Centre Holistic Vet - Homeopathic Vet - Acupuncture Vet - Herbal Vet - Natural Vet Copyright © AVMC June 2009 Page refers to: vet acupuncture - equine acupuncture - veterinary acupuncture - acupuncture vet - vet acupuncturist - veterinary acupuncturist - eru - equine recurrent uveitis - moonblindness - holistic - homeopathic - homeopathic vet - homeopathy - acupuncture - moon-blindness - eye - blind - blindness |
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