What is iridology?
Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosis or iridiagnosis) is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about a patient’s systemic health. Practitioners match their observations to iris charts, which divide the iris into zones that correspond to specific parts of the human body. Iridologists see the eyes as “windows” into the body’s state of health.
Iridologists claim they can use the charts to distinguish between healthy systems and organs in the body and those that are overactive, inflamed, or distressed. Iridologists claim this information demonstrates a patient’s susceptibility towards certain illnesses, reflects past medical problems, or predicts later health problems.
As opposed to evidence-based medicine, iridology is not supported by quality research studies and is widely considered pseudoscience. The features of the iris are one of the most stable features on the human body throughout life.[disputed – discuss] The stability of iris structures is the foundation of the biometric technology which uses iris recognition for identification purposes.
In 1979, Bernard Jensen, a leading American iridologist, and two other iridology proponents failed to establish the basis of their practice when they examined photographs of the eyes of 143 patients in an attempt to determine which ones had kidney impairments. Of the patients, forty-eight had been diagnosed with kidney disease, and the rest had normal kidney function. Based on their analysis of the patients’ irises, the three iridologists could not detect which patients had kidney disease and which did not.
The iris is the greenish-yellow area surrounding the transparent pupil (showing as black). The white outer area is the sclera, the central transparent part of which is the cornea.Iridologists generally use equipment such as a flashlight and magnifying glass, cameras or slit-lamp microscopes to examine a patient’s irises for tissue changes, as well as features such as specific pigment patterns and irregular stromal architecture. The markings and patterns are compared to an iris chart that correlates zones of the iris with parts of the body. Typical charts divide the iris into approximately 80–90 zones. For example, the zone corresponding to the kidney is in the lower part of the iris, just before 6 o’clock. There are minor variations between charts’ associations between body parts and areas of the iris.
According to iridologists, details in the iris reflect changes in the tissues of the corresponding body organs. One prominent practitioner, Bernard Jensen, described it thus: “Nerve fibers in the iris respond to changes in body tissues by manifesting a reflex physiology that corresponds to specific tissue changes and locations.” This would mean that a bodily condition translates to a noticeable change in the appearance of the iris, but this has been disproven through many studies. (See section on Scientific research.) For example, acute inflammatory, chronic inflammatory and catarrhal signs may indicate involvement, maintenance, or healing of corresponding distant tissues, respectively. Other features that iridologists look for are contraction rings and Klumpenzellen, which may indicate various other health conditions.
Seven rings Iris zones/rings and accompanying body region/organ
Inner: Stomach.
Second: Small and large intestine.
Third: Circulation of blood and lymph.
Fourth: Internal organs and endocrine system.
Fifth: Musculoskeletal system.
Outer: Skin and organs of elimination.
What are the benefits of Iridology?
Iridology treats the person instead of the symptoms. Through understanding your genetic vulnerabilities and reactive patterns, you can maintain balance and guard against illness. The body has its own healing wisdom, given the opportunity. Iridology offers a simple economical way to learn to care for your body.
The fundamental goal of iridology is prevention of serious degenerative processes by integrating nutritional, mechanical (chiropractic), spiritual and emotional support. Some of the benefits of iridology are:
Overall health awareness
Understanding how the organs interact
Knowing which organs are under or over active
Becoming familiar with the body’s overall chemistry
Knowing the conditions of the nervous, digestive, elimination, lymphatic and structural systems of the body.
Capabilities:
Inflammation Spotting. Will show where inflammation is present.
Reveals areas in the body where acidity has or can accumulate.
Body Activity Levels. Will show if any part of your body is over active or under active.
Problem Spotting. Will show where problems are occurring in your body.
It is this tissue change that takes place in the patient that makes iridology especially valuable for those specializing in the treatment of chronic diseases.
The Health Status Equation
In order to fully appreciate what the iris reveals, let’s first consider this equation:
HEALTH STATUS = PHYSICAL INHERITANCE + ENVIRONMENT (Diet, lifestyle, etc.) + EMOTIONAL/SPIRITUAL FACTORS + AGE.
We all inherit certain combinations of physical traits. We can observe some of these origins from our family tree, but how much this specifically affects you? Diet and lifestyle have a great impact on some people, but why are others able to get away with abusing their bodies? Which mental and emotional aspects significantly affect our physical health? And as we get older, we lose our resiliency at different rates.
Human eye. macro
iridology Criticism
Formal studies by the American Medical Association and the American Optometric Association have shown iridology to be ineffective as a diagnostic tool: in a well-controlled study of diagnostic accuracy of iridology, three iridologists examined photographs (without knowing the diagnosis) from the irises of 24 patients with severe and 24 with moderate renal disease, as well as 95 individuals with no known disease; the iridologists were unable to diagnose the presence or absence of renal disease with any accuracy.
The majority of medical doctors reject all the claims of all branches of iridology and label them as pseudoscience or even quackery.Critics, including most practitioners of medicine, dismiss iridology given that published studies have indicated a lack of success for its claims. To date, clinical data do not support correlation between illness in the body and coinciding observable changes in the iris. In controlled experiments,practitioners of iridology have performed statistically no better than chance in determining the presence of a disease or condition solely through observation of the iris.It has been pointed out that the premise of iridology is at odds with the fact that the iris does not undergo substantial changes in an individual’s life. Iris texture is a phenotypical feature that develops during gestation and remains unchanged after birth. There is no evidence for changes in the iris pattern other than variations in pigmentation in the first year of life and variations caused by glaucoma treatment. The stability of iris structures is the foundation of the biometric technology which uses iris recognition for identification purposes.
Regulation, licensure, and certification-In Canada and the United States, iridology is not regulated or licensed by any governmental agency. Numerous organizations offer certification courses.
Possible harms-As iridology has no value in diagnosing any diseases, possible harms in the use of iridology include the waste of time and money. More seriously, medical errors—treatment for conditions diagnosed via this method which do not actually exist (false positive result) or a false sense of security when a serious condition is not diagnosed by this method (false negative result)—could lead to improper or delayed treatment and even loss of life.
MAIKONG IRIDOLOGY SOFTWARE Installation and operation
