Iridology is a technique used by certain doctors, homeopaths as well as in non-conventional medicine and particularly by naturopaths. Its objective is to study the colored part of the eye, the iris, to appreciate the overall health of a person. In addition to the morphological analysis and the study of the patient’s medical history, iridology is a major tool for naturopaths in order to understand the vitality of an individual, his “background” as well as his organic strengths and weaknesses.

According to the proverb, “the eyes are the mirror of the soul”, they are also the mirror of the body and its state of health. Hippocrates, father of medicine, said about it “such are the eyes, such is the body”.

In addition to assessing an individual’s overall state of health, detailed iris analysis (live or by photographic enlargement) would reveal individual predispositions to certain diseases. It is above all this ability to discover organic weaknesses even before the onset of symptoms and pathology that would distinguish iridology from other diagnostic methods.

It would make it possible to understand the disease, its history and its cause, and to anticipate the body’s healing abilities. According to Alain Rousseaux, one of the founders of contemporary naturopathy, “it is not the disease that interests us, it is the history of the disease and the meaning of the cure, and this is the unique interest of iridology ”.

Iridology as a diagnostic tool

According to Alain Rousseaux: “According to the philosophy specific to each medicine, the study of the iris does not provide the same information.

The allopathic doctor searches for the precise nature of the disease through the diagnosis; the iris in this respect is not very efficient.

The homeopath looks for the remedy which corresponds to the constitution, the terrain, the symptoms; the iris shows a certain interest.

The naturopath looks for reaction capacities in relation to self-healing and the root causes of physiological imbalance; The iris is particularly rich in information. “

Tonicity

The tone of the fibers that make up the weft of the iris may vary. It usually gives an impression of the patient’s state of health. For example, firmness would induce good individual resistance.

The particular signs

Special signs like spots, deposits, bumps, pits or colors act as indicators of potential weaknesses and disease. For example, a two-tone iris raises a possible predisposition to diabetes. A white spot would indicate a premature aging process, or even a tendency to arteriosclerosis.

Cartography

Thanks to the iris mapping, 90 areas were identified in our two irises.

The identification of these areas of correspondence is the result of more than 100 years of empirical data collection concerning the state of health of a person, his organic weaknesses, his pathologies and the signs that one could find on his iris ( density of the iris fiber, relief, marks, deposits, etc.).

The right iris represents the right half of the body, and the left iris the left half.

According to the mapping of the iris, the eye represents a real geographic map of the body. Each organ corresponds to a defined area. Locating a particular sign in a specific area indicates which organ might be affected.

There are many maps (Angerer, Schnabel or Deck in Germany / Lindhar or Jensen in the United States / Vanier, Verdier, Roux, Jausas, de Bardo in France). If they differ in details, 90% of authors today agree on the projection areas of the main systems and organs of the body.

Starting from the pupil, to go towards the outer edge of the iris, we have thus identified several concentric zones representing the different systems of the human body:

• The stomach area
• The intestinal area
• The sympathetic nervous system
• The glandular and energetic zone
• The organic zone
• The circulatory area (lymph and blood)
• Finally the skin, the outermost area of ​​the iris

Then, within these areas, corresponds a relatively precise location of each organ of the body. 

Constitutional weaknesses

A French iridologist, André Roux, drew up three main constitutions based in particular on the color of the eyes. Each of these 3 constitutions would have a probability of developing a certain type of pathology:

• The blue iris or “Fibrillary lymphatic” constitution: this iris has a light blue base coloration which may vary towards green or gray tones. It would testify to a constitutional ground generally in acidosis, of a fragile immune system with a predisposition to short-term respiratory pathologies (nasopharyngitis…); to medium-term allergies and then to long-term arthritic and rheumatic pathologies.
• The brown iris or “Hematogenous” constitution: this iris has a brown coloration linked to the richness of the pigment. It would testify to a predisposition to cardiovascular pathologies, hypertension, metabolic disorders (cholesterol, diabetes, obesity), liver enlargement, digestive disorders or even adiposity.
• The mixed iris or “Mixed biliary” constitution: it is a hazelnut iris, green-brown or brown-yellow in color, revealing deep iris layers in blue. This constitution would testify to a weakness of the liver and the biliary tract, a weak digestive potential and a disturbance of the metabolism of carbohydrates.

Iridologist, a supervised profession?

Training in iridology is very poorly supervised, particularly in North America. According to some estimates (2), there are more than 10 practitioners there, but less than 000% of them have received training in a recognized institution. Others may have taken a simple distance course, in the form of videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs, or a weekend of workshops. Do not hesitate to ask what is the training of your practitioner and to request references. In Europe, iridology is better structured. It is taught in the context of more general disciplines, such as naturopathy, and 2 in 1 iridologists belong to the classical medical community.

Course of a session

The iridological examination itself is simple and safe. The iridologist examines the iris of each eye using a specialized device, consisting of an optical system and a light source. He can also take photographs which will then be enlarged, sometimes processed by computer, and interpreted. Some iridologists finish their exam by focusing on the white part of the eye, a technique called sclerology that reports changes in health.

After the general morphological assessment, the iridological assessment lasts about ten minutes. The signs perceived in the irises are commented directly on the person and serve as a basis for the naturopath to question the individual and find the origin of the dysfunctions or weaknesses. Based on the information collected and observed, the naturopath then advises an individualized lifestyle program intended to correct lifestyle errors and strengthen the field and thus the overall state of health of the individual.

Does it work ?

• No scientific study has been able to prove to date that iridology makes it possible to make a diagnosis of pathology.
• There is thus never any absolute certainty when interpreting signs observed in the iris. We don’t know how the body writes this information into the iris.
• Not all the signs that are inscribed in the iris can be decoded.
• The same sign can be interpreted differently in 2 different people.
• The notion of time: a mark in the iris may correspond to past suffering, but it may also not yet have manifested itself in the form of symptoms or pathology (projectional aptitude of the individual).
• The iridological analysis must be placed in the overall context of the individual and intervene in addition to a morphological analysis and a history.
• The areas defined in the iris are difficult to delineate precisely and are subject to discussion among the authors themselves.

Contraindications of iridology

There is no contraindication to performing an iridological assessment.

The link between eyes and disease has always been found in ancient writings. From the texts of Hippocrates 2400 years before JC to the old testament which announced “one cannot offer sacrifices to the Eternal one if one is ill or if one has spots in the eye”, one thus notes that the eyes have been observed from all time.

The first references to iridology appear in “Chiromatica Medica”, a work by Philippus Meyens, published in Dresden, Germany, in 1670.

However, the authorship of modern iridology is recognized by Ignatz Von Peczely, a Hungarian physician who lived in the 12th century. Von Peczely recorded his clinical observations and diagnostic methods by reading the iris in a book entitled “Discovery in the field of therapy and naturism.” Introduction to the study of diagnosis by the eyes ”. He wrote “the eye is not only the mirror of the soul, but also that of the body”. It is he who establishes the basic concepts of iridology as well as the first general mapping of the iris which gives areas of correspondence between the eye and the various organs of the human body. This was inspired by the astrological model (XNUMX iridian zones representative of different parts of the body).

The first truly detailed iris mapping appeared in the 1950s, under the leadership of an American chiropractor and naturopath, Bernard Jensen. He is still recognized today as one of the masters of thought in the discipline. For Jensen, the teaching and practice of iridology only makes sense in the context of naturopathic philosophy and concept. Iridology is not a therapy, but a discipline for investigating the causes of physio-pathology.

Iridology is a formidable tool available to the naturopath in order to assess the state of health and vitality of an individual, his organic strengths and weaknesses, and his predispositions for a pathology. Iridology makes it possible to assess and thus strengthen the ground of a person in order to prevent him from developing this pathology, it then allows real primary prevention. If its effectiveness could not be demonstrated in a scientific way, the empirical results of decades of use testify to the relevance of this technique in the analysis of the causes and the direction of the disease in 80% of the cases. This technique requires a lot of practice, prudence and humility on the part of the therapist. It must always be used with a view to questioning the individual and the information must be placed in a global context.