Regular problems about AMD

Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 1:48 pm Post in Eye Diseases

A bad news is that the number of AMD patients is on the increase. The most contributing reason is that the thinning ozone layer is allowing more ultraviolet light, so that it is quite necessary to wear sunglasses outdoors. Other causes include longer life span, environmental pollutants, smoking, poor diet, and obesity and so on. Old people need a health diet and more exercise than youngsters for ADM prevention.

Age-related macular degeneration has several forms. And there are some treatment advertisements on TV, such as eye injection and multivitamin pills. It is necessary to get a prior consultation from an eye care practitioner before making a choice. Macular degeneration is mostly associated with natural aging, although early studies also reported genetic factors. Severe AMD in old people can cause vision loss. Experts say that AMD with fibrosis normally does not affect peripheral vision.

Besides natural aging, macular degeneration can be caused by certain drugs, known as drug-related AMD. Furthermore, macular degeneration is always coupled by cataracts. For those getting macular degeneration in their 80s, LASIK is not suitable. But they can resort to cataract surgery, which removes the natural lens and replaces it with an artificially clear one.

Some researches show that people with a family AMD history are more likely to suffer the disease. Besides proper protection against UV rays, individuals should keep a healthy life and diet. Dark green leafy vegetables including spinach, kale or collard greens as well as other leafy veggies are plentiful in lutein and zeaxanthin, which are helpful in preventing AMD.

As people age, retinal holes or macular holes may occur, affecting central vision with peripheral vision untouched. Problems in ocular structures including macula can make straight line wavy. There are even blind spots coming in and out of the visual field.