ACUPUNCTURE FOR DRY EYE: NOT SO POINTLESS

摘要

After presenting a recent lecture on dry eye disease (DED) to fourth-year optometry students and residents, an attendee asked me about acupuncture as a potential therapeutic option for ocular surface disease (OSD). I confessed my ignorance on the subject and began to research the literature; I owe her a debt of gratitude. I discovered an abundance of information about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including studies on acupuncture therapy for OSD.Acupuncture is a form of non-pharmacologic therapy that has been practiced in TCM for more than 2,000 years. It has been used to treat a broad variety of disorders, including infertility, postoperative pain, arthritis, and, more recently, OSD (Belgrade and Huntoon, 2009). Acupuncture needles are typically made of stainless steel and are inserted into very specific “acupuncture points.”.