Abstract

VERNAL KERATO-CONJUCTIVITIS AND ITS AYURVEDIC MANAGEMENT – A CASE STUDY

Dr. Sheweta Kotwal* and Dr. Daya Shankar Singh

Abstract

Vernal kerato-conjuctivitis (VKC) is a type of allergic conjunctivitis. It is bilateral, recurrent, occurs mainly in the childhood and rarely after 20 yrs. Presenting symptoms are: ocular itching, burning sensation, redness, watering, blurred vision, photophobia etc. Its incidence rate is high in hot and dry climate. As the onset is generally during the spring season, hence it is also called as spring catarrh. If remained untreated, it can cause serious eye damage and loss of vision. Topical steroids, anti-histamines, mast cell stabilizers are the only treatment modality mentioned in other contemporary science which reduces the inflammation to some extent but the recurrence rate is very high. So it is coherent to adopt Ayurvedic treatment to decrease the magnitude of recurrence rate and also to resolve the ailment. In Ayurveda, its clinical features can be correlated with Kaphaja Abhishyand. In this case study, a 3yr old child diagnosed with VKC who has shown marked improvement in the symptoms with the Ayurvedic management is presented below.

Keywords: Vernal kerato-conjuctivitis, Kaphaja Abhishyand, photophobia.