5 replies to this topic

[StephCThomp]

I've been reading about cataract treatment and prevention. The two most common recommendations are....

- N-acetyl-carnosine eye drops (plus other ingredients)

...or much cheaper and apparently equally good...

- Using castor oil as eye drops

 

What has been your experience with using castor oil?

 

I could not imagine dripping oil into my eyes and having that be a good or comfortable thing, but there are so many positive reports of using a drop of castor oil before bed that I elected to give it a go.  Acuity much better people say, eyes feel great in the morning, and resolution of cataracts.  Really?  OK, just one eye then...

 

This was not as uncomfortable as I expected, but it was certainly uncomfortable.  My eye felt a little tacky, and the upper eyelid in particular felt slightly 'sore', as if there were dust under it.  I still had this sensation the following morning, and had to take a long hot shower to rinse 50% of the effect away.  Hours later I still felt that my vision was slightly blurry and odd-feeling in that eye.

 

So what gives?!  What explains the difference between by experience and others'?  Maybe it's this... 

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/17962450

 

RESULTS:

Compared to the four other oils, castor oil was shown to induce significant necrosis and P2X7 cell death receptor and caspase 3 activation and to enhance intracellular reactive oxygen species production. Aleurites moluccana and camelina oils were not cytotoxic and increased cell membrane omega-3 fatty acid content. [...and yet...] None of the five tested oils showed any in vivo ocular irritation [...huh?].

CONCLUSIONS:

The results demonstrated that castor oil exerts cytotoxic effects on conjunctival cells. This cytotoxicity could explain the side effects observed in some patients using eye drops containing castor oil as a vehicle.

 

 

Thanks for your views/experiences/knowledge.

Edited by StephCThomp, 11 June 2016 - 12:42 AM.

[aconita]

I am using castor oil eye drops every night since a few months.

 

You are probably using some adulterated or low quality castor oil because I never experienced any of the side effects you mention.

 

I put 2 drops in each eye before sleeping, both drops on the sclera since it is much less sensitive than the cornea, I immediately close shut the eyes without blinking since blinking would drive all the castor oil out of the eyes.

 

No sensations whatsoever, of course if you do immediately open your eyes and try to see vision would be blurred because the oil film on the cornea.

 

After a few minutes vision is back to normal, no tackiness or soreness of any kind.

 

I may suggest you to stop using that oil and to try a different brand, what you are experiencing is not normal and a bad sign.

 

I know castor oil causes apoptosis of corneal epithelium cells but I don't see it as an issue, actually it might very well be why castor oil is beneficial: it causes a new corneal epithelium to develop in place of an old and irregular one.   

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18080873

 

 

Corneal epithelium: an exceedingly thin multicellular epithelial tissue layer (non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium) of fast-growing and easily regenerated cells, kept moist with tears. Irregularity or edema of the corneal epithelium disrupts the smoothness of the air/tear-film interface, the most significant component of the total refractive power of the eye, thereby reducing visual acuity. It is continuous with the conjunctival epithelium, and is composed of about 6 layers of cells which are shed constantly on the exposed layer and are regenerated by multiplication in the basal layer.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornea

[StephCThomp]

Hi aconita,

 

I just rediscovered this thread.  Could you please let me know which brand of castor oil you use, and/or any information about the variety, source, etc?  

 

Thanks very much

 

 

[aconita]

I bought mine from mysticmomentsuk.com which is UK based and might be unpractical for you to buy from but there is nothing special about it really, it is just castor oil.

 

I guess it is possible some producers adulterates castor oil mixing it with cheaper oils.

 

Because of its ricinoleic acid content, castor oil is a valuable chemical in feedstocks, commanding a higher price than other seed oils. As an example, in July 2007, Indian castor oil sold for about US$0.90 per kilogram (US$0.41 per pound)^[5] whereas U.S. soybean, sunflower and canola oils sold for about US$0.30 per kilogram (US$0.14 per pound).^[6]

 

https://en.wikipedia...wiki/Castor_oil

 

But generally speaking it should be quite easy to buy real castor oil, avoid hydrogenated or Jamaican varieties since are different products.

 

Pharmacies should carry it even if it would be likely more expensive than from other sources, anyway the amount needed for eye drops is so small that price really shouldn't be a great concern.

[Oakman]

I bought mine from mysticmomentsuk.com which is UK based and might be unpractical for you to buy from but there is nothing special about it really, it is just castor oil.

 

I guess it is possible some producers adulterates castor oil mixing it with cheaper oils.

 

Because of its ricinoleic acid content, castor oil is a valuable chemical in feedstocks, commanding a higher price than other seed oils. As an example, in July 2007, Indian castor oil sold for about US$0.90 per kilogram (US$0.41 per pound)^[5]whereas U.S. soybean, sunflower and canola oils sold for about US$0.30 per kilogram (US$0.14 per pound).^[6]

 

https://en.wikipedia...wiki/Castor_oil

 

But generally speaking it should be quite easy to buy real castor oil, avoid hydrogenated or Jamaican varieties since are different products.

 

Pharmacies should carry it even if it would be likely more expensive than from other sources, anyway the amount needed for eye drops is so small that price really shouldn't be a great concern.

 

More to the point aconita, what caused you to start this therapy, and what are your results, if any, so far?

[aconita]

Since quite a while I stopped castor oil eye drops, no specific reason really, I just feel like aren't causing any major sight improvement  for me, at least not any so noticeable to justify the use. 

 

I don't have any cataract issue (touching wood) but some mild presbyopia and a mild refractive error (I don't need to wear glasses), those don't seem to be effected much by castor oil.

 

It isn't uncomfortable and unlikely damaging as far as my experience with it goes.

 

For some it might lead to better results, possibly it might work for cataract at least to a certain extent, likely will provide good relief for dry eyes, since it.causes apoptosis of corneal epithelium cells it might correct corneal scars or imperfections.

 

There is very little research on this topic, most information is anecdotal, but is so cheap and easy that I can't see any reason for not self experimenting with it.