Dhumadarshi (Smoky Vision) Meaning, Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

By Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa, B.A.M.S
The disease of the eye in which there is smoky vision is called dhumadarshi. The person cannot see things clearly and feels as if his eyes have been clouded and masked by smoke or ‘a feel of eyes being covered by smoke’. Try to see anything when there is smoke in front of your eyes. You can’t perceive anything isn’t it. This is the feeling of the patient of dhumadarshi in spite of no smoke in front of his eyes.
Dhuma – smoke
Darshi – vision

Dhumadarshi or smoky vision is one of the vision disorders explained by Master Sushruta. Dhumara is a similar condition explained by Master Vagbhata. It also means smoky vision.
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Causes, Pathogenesis, Symptoms

Causes
Shoka – excessive grief
Jwara – fever, chronic fever
Ayasa – excessive physical exertion / indulging in physical activities or exercises in excess of one’s need and capacity
Shirobhitapa – chronic headache

Pathogenesis – When the person is exposed to the above said etiological factors for a long duration the vitiated dosha, predominantly pitta afflicts the organs of vision (eye) and meddles with the vision.

Symptoms – The person afflicted by this disorder sees all the things around him to be enveloped by smoke i.e. the vision of things are unclear.

Prognosis – This disease is predominantly caused by vitiated pitta and is curable.
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Treatment of Dhumadarshi

Sarpi – Use of medicated ghee is the most important aspect of treating dhumadarshi. This is also because the disease is caused by vitiated pitta and medicated ghee is the best medicine to combat vitiated pitta and diseases caused by the same. Mainly the old ghee should be given for drinking.

Abhishyanda / Adhimanthavat Chikitsa – All the treatments applicable and administered to treat conjunctivitis and glaucoma of pitta and rakta (vitiated blood) in origin shall be administered to treat dhumadarshi too. The treatment plan should include measures such as bloodletting / venesection, pouring or showering of medicated fluids, eye drops, eye salve / cleansing, putapaka, collyrium etc as indicated in pittaja or raktaja type of conjunctivitis or glaucoma.

Paittika Visarpa Chikitsa – All treatments and measures mentioned for treating Pittaja Visarpa i.e. herpes caused by vitiated pitta should be administered in treating dhumadarshi.
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Sanskrit Verses

Read – Tarpana Putapaka – Ayurveda Eye Care – Ashtanga Hrudaya Sutrasthana 24

Modern correlation

Ametropia – It is an eye condition wherein there is refractive error. The distant objects and points in this condition are not properly focused on the retina as they should be. Myopia i.e. short-sightedness is one of the types of ametropia. This condition is often correlated with dhoomadarshi due to similarity in symptoms. Therefore it appears that the symptoms of dhumadarshi are probably due to refractive errors of the eyes.
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Symptoms of glaucoma – Another eye condition adhimantha has been compared to glaucoma. Symptoms of glaucoma are closer to the clinical picture of dhumadarshi. Headache, dimness of vision or cloudy / smoky feeling of the eyes are also seen in adhimantha / glaucoma. Adhimantha and dhumadarshi are different diseases explained in Ayurveda texts. But from the modern perspective glaucoma and its symptoms can be considered as one of the differential diagnoses for and correlation to dhumadarshi.

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