Retired optician ‘cures own blindness with marigolds’

December 11, 2009 04:07 pm | Updated December 16, 2016 11:43 am IST - London:

B-57,  GHT-180202,  FEBRUARY 18, 2008:  Guwahati: A butterfly heads to suck nectar from a marigold flower at a park in Guwahati on Monday. PTI Photo

B-57, GHT-180202, FEBRUARY 18, 2008: Guwahati: A butterfly heads to suck nectar from a marigold flower at a park in Guwahati on Monday. PTI Photo

You may call it a miracle, but a retired optician claims to have cured his own blindness by taking a food supplement containing marigolds.

73-year-old Mr. Harry Marsland virtually lost the sight in his right eye after developing dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - a condition responsible for half of all cases of blindness in Europe.

After trying various treatments to no avail, Mr. Marsland finally decided to experiment taking a vitamin supplement containing extracts from the orange flowers and within months of taking the taking the capsules, he regained vision in his left eye, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.

“I now know, professionally, that I have recovered almost completely from the effects of the dry AMD in my left eye. I am the first person to have such good fortune.

“I have recovered 95 per cent of the sight in my left eye which is miraculous, considering that at one point I was literally blind in the dark,” he was quoted by the British newspaper as saying.

He lost vision in his right eye in 2001 to wet AMD, a more severe form of the condition, and since then also began suffering problems with his left eye. And, the improvement in his sight has allowed Mr. Marsland to drive a car again and enjoy reading without the aid of a magnifying glass.

Mr. Marsland said he believes it could offer hope to millions of AMD sufferers. “I treated myself, which is the very thing you’re not supposed to do in any profession. As a retired professional, I feel a responsibility to get this message across to as many people as possible.”

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