Iridology is a diagnostic technique that inspects the different structures of the Iris (colored part of the eye) and how imbalances in these structures can represent different conditions in the body.
When I first was studying to become a Natural Health Practitioner, I was VERY skeptical towards Iridology. I have now been practicing for over 10 years and am constantly impressed with it's accuracy. If you dont believe me, try me :)
The way it works is simply me looking into your eyes with a magnifying glass and a small flashlight. And yes, I make sure not to eat too much garlic before the appt. :)
When clients come in for the consultation, I first do the iridology exam before knowing any of their health conditions. It is only once I have finished explaining the iridology findings that we go through a detailed health history. That's right!! I explain what's wrong with you, before you share anything with me. Now, how impressive is that !! And no, I am not psychic :)
How do you know if someone is a good Iridologist? Easy. If her/his findings match your conditions, then they are good.
It definitely is something worth trying. It's a good way to detect abnormalities before they have a chance to develop into potential disease. It also helps to determine the best way to approach certain health conditions. One example of this is, obesity. What I mean by that is , there are a few things that can come into play when dealing with such a condition. Thyroid imbalances, Adrenal Gland dysfunction, digestive disorders, bad lifestyle habits, all of these can contribute to obesity! A simple Iridology exam helps clarify exactly what is wrong so that we can approach the issues dead on and not waste time wondering what is causing the negative symptoms you might be experiencing.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me or just post it on the comments. Or you can just book a flight and come see me ;).
Yours in Health
Denise
what do you look for? or does the stuff just stand out so much, that once trained, you can't miss it?
ReplyDeletelove'n the blog so far! take care and hug your hubby!
Hi luke,
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm looking for are variations in color and fiber discrepancies. When I first started, the iridology exam would take me 3o to 40 minutes. Now it takes me approx. 20 minutes. It is quite amazing to see the things that show up. I've often detected heart conditions, inflamed prostates, lumps in breasts, lung conditions and so on. What a great tool to have. If a person is coming in to see me for physical issues, I will not see them till I have done the iridology exam. It is automatically included in the consultation.
So this is a reminder, if anyone wants to schedule an appointment with me, do not tell me why!! BTW, the reason I do it this way is so that my clients have confidence in the tools that I choose to use.
Luke, aren't you in Egypt at the moment?
OK. You are going to have to let me argue with you for a bit here. Of course, only the kindest form of arguing allowed. Understand that by nature I am a skeptic about just about anything (much to Karmen's frustration sometimes). Add allopathic medical training to that and 15 years of medical practice and my skepticism is even worse. But I remain (at least I intend to remain) open-minded.
ReplyDeleteLet me play the adversary here for a moment. You give the example of obesity. And you list several physical conditions that can contribute, and I would agree that they do. However, 95% of obesity is caused by people putting too much of the wrong stuff in their mouths, chewing it up, swallowing it, and then watching TV for 5 hours, not the other things on the list. No one needs either one of us to go into any big workup to figure that out. But when you do discover the 5% in whom there is something on the list, how do you confirm that it actually is occuring?
My second question. What does your iridology exam add? I can figure out generally what is going on with someone after 10 minutes of just listening to them talk. It sounds like you do your exam, and then listen to them talk. So what does the exam give you that the talking doesn't?
Please don't take my questioning as harsh or judgmental or anything of that nature. We have a clashing of philosophies here in our training and that deserves some discovery on both our parts. Thanks for being brave enough to put this out there when you knew I would be dissecting it.
Dear FreeSRT,
ReplyDeleteYou go right ahead and "argue", I will not take offence whatsoever.
The last skeptical doctor I met was in my office and I floored her with my Iridology and my recommendations. After suffering for years with Fibromyalgia (and trust me she had consulted with a whole bunch of her "colleagues"), she is now pain free and refers clients to me.
O.K. let me answer a few of your questions.
1.I agree that 95% of obesity is caused by a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits. And so you ask me how do I confirm if there is an actual thyroid imbalance or digestive disorder, and so on? That is exactly what Iridology does. it very specifically detects "areas of concern" depending on the "markings" and their specific areas in the iris.
2.First of all I do the exam before they talk. In other words, before they tell me any conditions whatsoever, I will, after the iridology exam, let them know what organ/area is showing up as "deficient" and how this can manifest itself. And once I'm done doing that, this is when they usually start talking. And the first thing I usually hear is "wow, how did you know that?" ;) The Iridology gives me specifics that clients can't. In other words, if someone tells me their stomach hurts and they get diarrhea, the iridology helps me determine if the stomach lining is irritated, or whether the liver is producing enough hydrochloric acid for proper digestion of proteins, or if there is sufficient production of digestive enzymes, or if there is inflammation in the small intestine and so on . On a few occasions, through the iridology exam, I was able to detect irregular cell reproduction in breast tissue. Both clients had just had their mammograms and the tests had come out perfect. After my strong recommendations for them to ask to conduct the tests again, both tests came back showing masses. Unfortunately one was malignant, and fortunately it was caught early enough for successful treatment.
I don't believe Iridology is perfect. Nothing is. But what an incredible tool it has been for me.
I'm hoping to look into your eyes soon ;)
no, i'm back from Egypt.. only spent two weeks there.. although i'm still posting about it and will be for a little while longer.
ReplyDeletei'll have to get one of these thingies done! whenever we finally meet face to face.
Hi Denise, I had come across an iridologist before when she was just starting her practice..so I knew a little bit of the things she did. It's not a widely acceptable concept here..but I see more of them practicing. It's interesting to know this from your perspective.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear more of the things you encounter..health is always one of my interest.
Luke,
ReplyDeleteJohn and I will be looking at my schedule and see if we can plan a visit sometime in the near future. I'll gladly do your Iridology and set you straight:)
Hi HLiza
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping in. Looking forward to future conversations.
Skeptic back here. Thanks for your response.
ReplyDeleteYou say the iridology, your findings from your exam, are the evidence that a particular problem exists. There is a problem with that though. It is highly subjective. I am fine with the exam and your interpretation of the exam. But you need objective verification in order to put too much trust in your findings? That is what scientific research and the scientific method is all about. That's the difference between anecdotal and actual. When I listen to and examine someone, I then do something to bring an objective piece to the table to confirm what I suspect or already know. How do you do that with iridology? If you don't, then why should I as your patient trust what you tell me? Your answer may be that if I follow your treatment plan and then feel better, that is evidence enough. But how I feel is not necessarily evidence of genuine wellness.
What I am getting at is why many in my field would consider iridology suspect. Where is the objective piece? Without it anyone can say anything and get a certain number of people to believe it. If someone goes to an iridologist who looks at their eyes, says they have this, says take this or do that, and then that someone feels better, such a closed loop process has no external standard against which it is measures itself.
Again, not passing judgment. Just gently pushing a bit harder and delivering a roundhouse-double punch-roundhouse. (Go ahead and tell your man that us TaeKwonDo guys can more than hold our own in piddly little punch fighting. Wax on, wax off.) I am all for people feeling better by whatever means available to them as long as they have the means to pursue it and it is not compromising other tools that would be of benefit. Feeling better is certainly one measure of wellness, but it can be very deceptive too. But that is just like everthing else too.
"I don't believe Iridology is perfect. Nothing is. But what an incredible tool it has been for me." (Denise)
I am glad to see that you don't take yourself too seriously. Allopathic medicine is far from perfect too. We all have something to bring to the table here.
"I'm hoping to look into your eyes soon ;)" (Denise)
I would love to have you practice your art on me. I look forward to the experience.
Denise, you run a very interesting blog. I saw a link on another blog and decided to check it out. This is a little out of my area of expertise, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, am a first time visitor, liked what I saw and wanted to leave a comment.
Thanks,
Craig
Cleveland, OH
Hi Denise,
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you brought up this topic! A few years ago several men I work with had Iridology and I was fascinated at what each of them found out. You actually helped someone get out of fibro pain???? Wow. If you have a cure for tinnitus I will be indebted to you for LIFE! I have plenty of issues but that's the worst.
I see my friend Hliza is here! I put a link to you on my blog as well :)
Constant Complainer,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I'm curious to know what your area of expertise is? apart from complaining that is:)
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI do have a few suggestions in regards to the tinnitis. I'll email you. And then we'll talk about the "indebted for life" :)
Oh! and my dear skeptic one, I have not forgotten about you. It is late and I want to make sure I properly reply to your comment, and so you will hear from me tomorrow morning.
ReplyDeleteI will wait patiently. I hope I am not pouncing to harshly. I really do not mean to do that. I just want to push the divide that is traditionally between what you and I do, understand what you understand about what you do, help you understand what I understand about what I do, and find common ground. That is a lot of "understanding."
ReplyDeleteYes FSRT, "EYE" understand :)
ReplyDeleteMan! I missing out! I feel swamped with stuff here on the home front. You need to make sure and bring your magnifying glass and light to punta cana!! I'm intrigued.
ReplyDeletehmmm. are Iridologists regulated? Is there a professional association, a body that issues credentials? How much is an appointment, typically?
ReplyDeleteHi Karmen, Sounds good to me. I'm looking forward to vacation time :)
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, Thanks for visiting my site. Iridology is not yet regulated by any governing body. I'm looking forward to the day it is. It took me approx. 18 months to become a "certified" Iridologist and once in while I see advertising for weekend iridology courses! A little frustrating!
A consultation (including the iridology exam) is $80 and this appt. lasts 90 minutes. The Report of Findings is the 2nd appointment $110. That is when I explain your personalized health program in detail (90 min. appt.). I truly love what I do.
Good morning FSRT,
ReplyDeleteI will try to answer your questions as best as I could.
The iris contains thousands of nerve endings, microscopic blood vessels, muscle and other tissues. When in college, I was taught that the nerve fibers within the iris receive their impulses by way of connections to the optic nerve, optic thalami and spinal cord. They are formed embryologically from mesoderm and meuroectoderm tissues. Both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are present in the iris. The fibers in the iris respond to changes that constantly occur in all body tissues by manifesting a reflex physiology that correspond with these specific tissue changes. And so the way I understand it, is that as changes (good or bad) occur in the body our brain is notified of these changes through our central nervous system. As all these “messages/impulses “ travel through the spine to our brain, it is then that the optic nerve is affected by these impulses. Thus the constant change in microscopic tissue within the iris.
“But you need objective verification in order to put too much trust in your findings? That is what scientific research and the scientific method is all about. “ (FSRT)
I'm not too sure what you mean exactly or what kind of answer you expect. But this I do know. My sister had to have the same medical thyroid test done 6 times to finally have a “proper diagnosis” for her hypothyroidism. A few of my clients have had to have mammograms done over again to properly get diagnosed, and so on. You hear of medical misdiagnosis all the time. Should we discredit all medical evidence because of this? Of course not.
I do not claim to have all the answers (nobody does), and I do not diagnose. But this much I can say, Iridology has been an amazing tool.
“Where is the objective piece? Without it anyone can say anything and get a certain number of people to believe it. “ (FSRT)
I agree. This is why I always ask my clients to confirm my findings with a medical specialist. I encourage them to verify everything with their “doctors”.
“Feeling better is certainly one measure of wellness, but it can be very deceptive too.” (FSRT)
Again I totally agree. This is why I have concerns in regards to overuse of medications. I am not against medication. I am against the abuse of it. Certain medications can make you feel temporarily better, but are toxic to the liver and have long term sideffects. Again I agree that this sense of feeling better can be deceptive.
My intentions are never to mislead. I am the first to admit if I do not know something or if I am unsure. I believe that with a team approach, we can all benefit from each others knowledge and not only give hope to people, but genuine good health.
interesting... my lecturer during my college years used to said that too. about how unique the eyes are, and how you could know about lots of illness from looking at em.
ReplyDeletedrNO
ReplyDeleteAt first I was very skeptical in regards to Iridology. Now I rely on it as a guide to help with the reports I write for my clients. The eyes do reveal quite a bit.
"...I always ask my clients to confirm my findings with a medical specialist. I encourage them to verify everything with their “doctors”." (Denise)
ReplyDeleteSorry to delay. It has been an activity filled day. This is the type of thing I was looking for. Not that doctors are the end all and know it all because we aren't and don't. But that you were looking for confirmation of your findings from somewhere outside of yourself. That is what I mean by objective. Think of it as 2nd or 3rd party confirmation if you like. I think it is important that we, as health practitioners, all see ourselves as pieces of the wellness puzzle. None of us holds all the answers. And not all individuals need us all in the same way. At times, you may have something to offer that I do not or cannot and vice versa. You have given me the answer that I was looking for. My irises are looking forward to their examination.