by Dr. Bill Rawls
Posted 1/21/22

Visual symptoms can be alarming to deal with for many people with Lyme disease. But are there ways to cope? Listen as Dr. Bill Rawls discusses how Lyme affects the eyes, plus shares personal insights on how herbal therapy improved his Lyme-related vision issues. Learn more about Dr. Rawls’ personal healing journey here.

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Video Transcript

Question: Can Lyme disease affect the eyes?

Tim Yarborough: Next one here from Miranda: One of my Lyme symptoms is super blurry vision. Can Lyme hide out in the eyes? And if so, do you have any specific recommendations about supplements that are beneficial for eye health?

Dr. Rawls: Yeah, that’s always a good question.

And one of the ways that I knew that I was having a relapse is my right eye would start getting blurry. But it’s not just the Lyme microbes. A lot of microbes like to hang around in the eyes. Bartonella, Toxoplasma, which is another really common protozoa, like the eye.

So you find these things there because they can get shielded from the immune system. And I’ve found that taking the herbs regularly, you know, that was one of the ways that I knew I was getting better is my eye would clear up; my blurry eye would clear up.

And so, and I’ve heard that reported so many times. Some people, I mean, if it’s significant, it’s one of those things to go to the eye doctor. Go to an optometrist and have it evaluated and make sure you don’t have something else going on.

But 10-to-1, they’re probably not going to find anything, and they’re not really going to be able to help you other than, how to correct the vision things, which probably will clear up. It did, in my case.

There are companies that produce herbal eye drops, but it’s sometimes hard to get them in this country. So in my case, just staying on the herbs, it would gradually get better. It would go away.

Herbs for Eye Health

Herbs can be a cornerstone of health for your body and eyes in a number of ways: They decrease the microbial load, quell inflammation, modulate the immune system, and increase antioxidant intake. Herbs, combined with some key nutrients, provide you with a range of full-body and eye support. Here are some of Dr. Rawls’ favorites:

Foundational Herbal Support

  • Cat’s claw
  • Japanese knotweed
  • Andrographis
  • Garlic
  • Sarsaparilla
  • Reishi mushroom
  • Cordyceps
  • Chinese skullcap

Nutrient Support for Eyes

  • Lutein and zeaxanthin
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin C
  • Zinc
  • Omega-3s

Dr. Rawls is a physician who overcame Lyme disease through natural herbal therapy. You can learn more about Lyme disease in Dr. Rawls’ new best selling book, Unlocking Lyme.
You can also learn about Dr. Rawls’ personal journey in overcoming Lyme disease and fibromyalgia in his popular blog post, My Chronic Lyme Journey.