Iridology

Origins and historical development :

Being a diagnostic tool to assist with an holistic approach to health and well being, Iridology is not actually used for curing specific symptoms or conditions. What it is useful for, however, is locating areas of the body that may be suffering adverse reactions to a life-style or hidden condition. If something is identified, be it genetic or functional weakness, the client can look at ways of addressing any such problem; as well as working on preventative measures against disease and a better standard of health overall.

Examples of conditions that can be revealed in the map of the iris include, glandular problems (particularly adrenal), state of health for various organs (especially kidney and liver), dietary needs from nutrient deficiency and imbalances (including anaemia), circulatory problems, muscle health (including the heart), psychological issues and detrimental effects from injuries.

What to expect during a treatment :

Often used by practitioners of other therapies to help with diagnosis of certain conditions, the first time the eyes are used will typically involve the practitioner either taking a photo of the eyes, or detailing the make up of the client’s eye onto a chart template. The shape, size, colour, pigment flecks, structural pattern and quality of tissue are all examined and recorded. The appropriate treatment for whatever the eye has shown will follow; and this will of course depend on which other therapy the practitioner is trained in. Subsequent examinations of the eyes will then be used to look for changes as to how well any prescribed treatment has been working; and whether anything else needs addressing.

Conditions suitable for treatment :

Iridology is a diagnostic tool that uses the eyes for finding imbalance and illness within the body. Early written work on the subject dates back to the late 17th Century, where it was noted that diseases in the body can be detected through the iris.

However, it is not until much later, in the late 19th Century that Iridology as we now know it came into being. A Hungarian boy named Ignatiz von Peckzely was caring for an owl with a broken wing; and he noticed a small dark mark in its eye. As the wing healed, the mark changed and reduced to a couple of much smaller dots. Intrigued by these observations he went on to graduate as a Doctor, specialising in injuries and iris markings; and eventually, using a clock face as a starting point, created a map of the body within the eye. After being published in 1881, there was much European interest in Peckzely’s work. The Swedish Doctor Nils Lilinquist contributed his own findings relating to colour changes; and was also the first to examine the effects of drugs on the iris, particularly iodine.

It was one of Lilinquists student’s, Doctor Henry Lahn who then took the study of Iridology to America, where Doctor Bernard Jensen set about studying and cataloguing the iris make up of hundreds of heart and kidney patients in an attempt to find a distinct pattern; and bring about a standardisation of iridology. By the mid 1950’s Jensen had produced a detailed topology of the iris. Each eye is the same; and while some conditions can be reflected in both eyes, as a general rule the left eye will show what is happening in the left side of the body; and the right eye the right side.

There has since been much study done on the eyes and different interpretations of what is reflected in the eye do exist; European topology has evolved from autopsy research and clinical studies on patients with a fair amount of enthusiasm for its practice, while research in America has been less well received. Most recently, the Rayid model was developed in the 1970’s and suggests that clues to a person’s emotional state and psychological well being can also be observed from the iris.