The Vitreous System

About vitreous detachment   Treatment   About floaters

Vitamins
& Supplements

Not sure which to get?
For help call us at 845.475.4158

Complete Product List

On a tight budget?
We recommend
Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula (whole food) 60 vcaps

Discount Packages
Vitreous Support Package 1Vitreous Support Package 1
Vitreous Support Discount Package
Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula + Hyaluronic Acid + Revision Formula + Vitamin C


Vitreous Support Package 2Vitreous Support Package 2
Vitreous Support: Advanced Eye & Vision Support + Hyaluronic Acid + Revision Formula + Vitamin C

Essential
Advanced Eye & Vision Support Formula (whole food) 60 vcapsAdvanced Eye & Vision Support Formula (whole food) 60 vcaps
Whole food, wild crafted herbal vegetarian formula with vision antioxidants, chemical- and preservative-free.
Essential
Carlsons Super Omega-3 Gems 1000 mg 250 softgelsCarlsons Super Omega-3 Gems 1000 mg 250 softgels
High quality omega-3 fatty acids
Essential
Vitamin C Complex 1000mg 120 vtabsVitamin C Complex 1000mg 120 vtabs
With natural buffers to help the body utilize the vitamin C more efficiently,
Very Important
ReVision Formula (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 ozReVision Formula (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 oz
This wild-crafted herbal formula is based on a classic Liver patent formula used in Chinese medicine for overall eye and body health.
Important
Viteyes Complete - 180 caps

Helpful
Retinal Support (wild-crafted herbal formula) 2 oz

As we get older, the vitreous becomes more liquid (and/or clumps) and causes a strain on the connective tissue and fibers, often resulting in a tear or detachment from the retina. In more serious cases a vitrectomy may be required in which the vitreous is completely removed.1

Although the vitreous itself contains no blood vessels, tiny weak capillaries can leak into the vitreous. This vitreous hemorrhage can cause eye floaters, impaired vision, and flashes of light (photopsia). causing symptoms which often include eye floaters and flashes.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for posterior vitreous detachment, unless there is a retinal tear that needs to be surgically repaired. In more severe cases requiring a vitrectomy, there are several serious vision-threatening concerns that include bleeding into the vitreous humor, corneal edema, infection, elevated IOP, retinal detachment, and cataract formation.

Complementary Approach

Targeted supplementation, a healthy diet, and regular exercise can help maintain a healthy retina and vitreous. For those that may be prone to vitreous tears/detachments, such as seniors, particularly if they are very nearsighted, targeted supplements can help keep the retina strong and healthy. We highly recommend regular checkups with your eye doctor to monitor your progress.

  • Supplementation with nutrients may be helpful to support the health of the vitreous.
    • Antioxidants to support the general health of the eye, fighting oxidative damage. Some researchers hypothesize that oxidative stress in the eye may contribute to myopia increasing vulnerability to PVD.2
    • Vitamin C helps support the vitreous and connective tissue in the eye, and has been postulated to react with oxygen in the ocular fluids.5, 6 Depletion of ascorbate in the eyes reduces the ability of the vitreous to consume needed oxygen.7
    • Hyaluronic is a large molecule which is associated with balanced moisture in the interior of the eye. Oxidative stress causes the amount of hyaluronic acid to decrease as we age causing the vitreous humour to become more liquid and more vulnerable to vitreous detachment.3
    • Several types of collagen are located at the connection between the vitreous and the retina.4 Collagen tends to degrade with aging and nutrients that support collagen health may be useful.
  • Healthy vision recommendations with detailed diet and lifestyle recommendations. Maintaining overall health of the eye supports maintaining health of the vitreous.
  • Note: Sometimes an epiretinal membrane can develop following separations of the vitreous from the retina.

Patient Experience with Nutrients and Acupuncture

Here are excerpts from one patient's experience. - She reported that one doesn't have to "live with" posterior vitreous detachment.

...

At 59 years of age, I still have 20-20 vision and am the only one of my friends who can read the menu in a restaurant without glasses. You can imagine my surprise when, out of the blue, on April 10, 2007, while accompanying my husband to a major retail store on an errand, I experienced what I can only describe as "star wars" in my right eye.

...

[It continued for 9 days and her doctor said it was part of aging; she talked to Michael Edson at NaturalEyeCare, who made nutritional recommendations and treated her with acupuncture. ]

...

At this point (6 months later), the flashes have become infrequent - maybe twice a week, if that. The floaters have diminished to the point where I hardly see them. And in most light, including fluorescent light, I usually don't see them at all. Each week the condition has continued to improve - it really has been a steady process of improvement.

Footnotes

1. Note: Researchers have reported that the vitreous has a critical influence on the health of the eye. M.S. Spitzer, Aging and age-related changes of the vitreous body (in German), Ophthalmologe, July, 2015
2. B.M. Francisco, et al, Oxidative stress in myopia, Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, April, 2015.
3. K. Takahashi, et al, Degree of degraded proteoglycan in human vitreous and the influence of peroxidation (in Japanese), Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi, March, 2006.
4. S.C. Bu, et al, The Ultrastructural Localization of Type II, IV, and VI Collagens at the Vitreoretinal Interface, PLoS One, July, 2015. 5. Takano, S., Ishiwata, S., Nakazawa, M., Mizugaki, M., Tamai, M. (1997). Determination of ascorbic acid in human vitreous humor by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Curr Eye Res, 16(6):589–594.
6. Eaton, J.W. (1991). Is the lens canned? Free Radic Biol Med. 11(2):207–213.
7. Shui, Y.B., Holekamp, N.M., Kramer, B.C., Crowley, J.R., Wilkins, M.A., et al. (2009). The Gel State of the Vitreous and Ascorbate-Dependent Oxygen Consumption. Arch Ophthalmol, Apr;127(4):475-482.

About vitreous detachment   Treatment   About floaters