AÂ Comparative Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Kantakari Ksheera seka And Paya Saindhava Seka in The Management of Shushkakshipaaka

Sushkakshipaka is one of the Vataja(Sushruta)1 /Vata-pittaja(Vagbhata) Sarvagata, Sadhya Netrarogas. Features of Shushkakshipaka includes hard and dry eye lids, found drooping; blurred vision and difficulty to open the eyes with foreign body sensation2 . The Lakshanas of Shushkakshipaka can be equated with the signs and symptoms of Dry Eye Syndrome. Dry Eye is a disorder of the tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive tear evaporation which causes damage to the inter palpebral ocular surface and is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort. The climate of tropical India and globalization along with the sprout of millions of IT professionals are making Dry Eye Syndrome, a fast growing disease, as all these leads to increased tear evaporation (due to dry wind, air conditioning, decreased blink reflex etc.) along with other causes like aqueous tear deficiency, mucin deficiency, lipid deficiency, impaired lid function, irregular corneal surface etc.The prevalence of DES in India is higher than the global prevalence and ranges from 18.4% to 54.3%. To explore effective solution in Ayurveda is the need of the hour as is no complete cure for Dry eyes in contemporary medicines at present.Some of the treatment modalities which have been tried with variable results include supplementation with tear substitutes, topical cyclosporine, mucolytic, topical retinoid, preservation of existing tears etc. along with correction of lid abnormalities, which are not long lasting and thus long-term usage is recommended. The treatment modalities that are told in classics for this are Ghritapaana, Tarpana, Seka, Aschotana, Anjana etc. which are known to increase the stability of tear film and give relief from the symptoms of Shushkakshipaka.  Hence this study is taken to overcome the challenges in treating the dry eye syndrome.