If you have an older dog you are probably quite familiar with cataracts. Any dog that is lucky enough to become a senior is in all likelihood going to get them.

Cataracts cause a clouding over the lens of the eye, which blurs vision and can potentially cause blindness if not treated. The standard treatment to remove them is with surgery, which can be costly.

Donita Mason, from the Salt Lake Alternative Pet Examiner, wrote an article on treating cataracts using alternative remedies.

One of the heartbreaks that happen as animals age is the development of cataracts. This is much more common in dogs than in cats. When it gets to the point that the animal can no longer see, traditional medicine says the only thing they can do for it is surgery to remove the cloudy lens. The surgery is expensive and many loving owners would find it difficult, especially in today’s financial state, to come up with the funds for the surgery. The chances of helping an animal with surgery is even less if the animal has shown up at a rescue group. For these situations it has just been accepted that the animal was blind.

MSM and Flaxseed oil

In talking with a local vet he has assured me that this treatment would be “safe for any mammal.” You are going to need a couple of eye droppers, some saline solution or a very mild eye drop, pure MSM with no additives, and cold pressed flaxseed oil. On the flaxseed oil, you want to make sure it is the cold pressed that you get from the refrigerated section of your local health food store. You want the cold pressed to insure that in the process of getting the oil, it has not been altered in any way. Flaxseed oil is easily affected by heat and light. The bottles that are in the cooler are dark to prevent the light from affecting it. In addition, doctors view the cold pressed oil to be the most effective.

By itself, flaxseed oil is regularly used for eye health. It has been found as effective for treating dry eye as the medication doxycycline. For dry eye it is taken internally, 1 tablespoon a day.

You mix the MSM into the saline solution so that it comes out to be a 15% solution. This is basically 1 teaspoon of the MSM to one ounce of the solution. You administer a couple of drops of flaxseed oil directly into the eye. This helps to soften the tissue. After 10 to 30 minutes you administer a couple of drops of the MSM solution to the eyes. There may be some uncomfortable stinging with the drops, but it is very temporary and not real uncomfortable. That is part of why you want to make sure the MSM is mixed into a soothing solution.

Administer this solution several times a day. After about 4 days you will start to see a white substance in the corner of the eye. That is the material from the cataract. Continue with the treatment until there is no more sign of the cataract.

There is not anything definitive about why this would work on the internet. In searching, you can find many websites talking about using the MSM for cataracts, but they do not include the flaxseed oil. Without the flaxseed oil the MSM is not as effective and it takes a much longer time to get rid of the cataract.

As always, the information given here is not intended to replace the advice given by your vet. It is intended to provide you with an education so that you can make an informed decision as to what is the best alternative for your companion.

Mason’s article goes on to discuss N-Acetylcarnosine and two homeopathic treatments. To read about the other options go to the examiner.com.

* Riesling looking very cute in her glasses.

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