How to Prevent Macular Degeneration Eye Disease

Macular degeneration is an eye disease characterized by gradual blurriness, dark areas or distortion in central vision. It begins when the macula, an area in the back of your retina responsible for managing fine central vision, begins to wear down.

Macular degeneration first shows itself through yellow deposits known as drusen beneath the retina. Over time, these deposits may lead to advanced AMD with abnormal blood vessels developing which leak blood and cause visual problems.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Food choices can significantly impact both your overall health and vision. A diet low in fat and rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is best to promote eye health. Your tiny arteries rely on nutrients from food sources for oxygen delivery; additionally, these supplements have been shown to lower risk factors associated with AMD (age-related macular degeneration), dry eye syndrome and other health conditions.

National Eye Institute’s Age-Related Macular Degeneration Study (AREDS) discovered that eating foods rich in antioxidant vitamins, minerals and zinc may slow macular degeneration progression. Good sources include dark-colored leafy greens, citrus fruits, orange vegetables and squash, nuts/seeds/fish with high omega-3 fatty acid content and nuts/seeds high in zinc content.

Leafy vegetables and dark-colored fruits such as kale, spinach, chard, collards, broccoli and Swiss chard contain large quantities of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, believed to help protect the macula of the eye, possibly help prevent or slow cataract development, as well as potentially slow macular degeneration progression.

Foods rich in vitamin C are also excellent for your eyes. Citrus fruits like lemons, grapefruit, oranges and tangerines contain vitamin C – an antioxidant which may prevent cataracts or age-related macular degeneration – making these fruits good choices to consume for optimal eye health. Tomatoes strawberries and red bell peppers also offer plenty of Vitamin C!

Diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids may lower your risk of macular degeneration by decreasing inflammation related to it. Fatty fish such as tuna, salmon, trout, sardines and anchovies are excellent sources of these essential fatty acids; nuts and seeds also provide ample amounts, not to mention other essential vitamins like Vitamin E.

Diets that are low in fat and contain the recommended amounts of water may also help improve eye health. Your retina requires water in order to function optimally, and a lack of it could lead to dry eyes or macular degeneration.

Avoid Smoking

Smoking increases the risk of serious health conditions and diseases, including cancer, lung disease and heart disease. Smoking has been linked to eye conditions like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration; research shows that smokers may be three times more likely to develop it compared with nonsmokers due to decreased oxygen levels within the eye causing faster vision degradation and damage to retina.

The macula is a small area at the back of your retina that helps you see fine details clearly when reading or driving, such as when threading needles. When damaged, you may experience blurriness, dark areas or distortion in your central vision while side (peripheral) vision remains generally unaffected. Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of severe sight loss among adults over 50, often making threading needles or driving difficult or impossible altogether.

Macular degeneration comes in two forms, dry and wet. The wet form is marked by abnormal blood vessel growth beneath the retina that leaks fluid and blood into the retina and damages or distorts its shape, leading to macula damage and distortion more rapidly than its counterpart in terms of time spent progressing and eventual vision loss.

Age, family history and ethnicity (African Americans are at increased risk than Caucasians). Other risk factors for AMD include obesity, smoking and having high cholesterol.

macular degeneration risk reduction strategies include eating healthily and receiving regular dilated eye exams. Early detection increases your chance of saving central vision; your eye care professional can test this by having you look at an Amsler grid composed of straight lines in a grid pattern; if any appear wavy or broken it is important to schedule an appointment immediately with their provider.

Get Regular Eye Exams

An annual eye exam is one of the best ways to prevent age-related macular degeneration and other vision problems, including macular dystrophies. Unfortunately, these conditions typically develop slowly without symptoms; often not being discovered until significant damage has already occurred. By contrast, an ophthalmologist can detect macular degeneration early on and even help stop further progression if necessary.

As soon as you turn 60 years old, it is especially crucial that you receive a baseline comprehensive eye exam every two years (or as often as is recommended by your physician), in order to detect serious eye diseases like cataracts and glaucoma that could result in permanent vision loss. Eye exams also can reveal general health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes and even signs of stroke.

At an eye exam, your physician will perform several steps during which they’ll test your visual acuity using a Snellen chart and collect detailed medical history information from you. They’ll use drops to dilate (enlarge) your pupils for closer examination of optic nerve and retina structures. Be sure to bring sunglasses after this exam as your eyes may become light-sensitive for up to an hour following testing.

Age related macular degeneration is the loss of central vision due to degeneration of the macula, the part of our eye which allows us to read, drive and see fine details such as faces and numbers. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness among people aged 55 or above and often affects Caucasians and smokers more quickly; those with a family history or personal experience of eye disease also are at greater risk.

The dry form of AMD, which accounts for most cases, is characterized by deposits beneath the retina known as drusen. Meanwhile, its less common but faster-acting variant — wet AMD — involves abnormal blood vessels leaking fluid under the retina that lift the macula and cause further vision loss.

If your doctor suspects wet macular degeneration, an ocular angiogram may be recommended in order to assess its location and pattern of new leaking blood vessels. An angiogram involves injecting harmless orange-red dye through veins in your arm into eye blood vessels before photographing retina showing any visible leaking vessels in color.

Exercise

Macular degeneration is an eye condition affecting the macula, an important part of retina located at the back of our eye that allows us to clearly view fine details while reading and driving. When macular degeneration strikes, its effects can cause blurriness and dark areas in your central vision which make reading, driving or recognising faces difficult – however peripheral vision remains normal.

Age-related macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of blindness among people over 60. This condition results from natural cell breakdown in the macula of retina and results from ageing, making the macula gradually worse over time. Wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels form under retina and leak blood or fluid into retina, rapidly impairing central vision and becoming a serious cause of blindness.

Macular degeneration may be prevented or its progression slowed with proper exercise, diet and regular eye exams – in addition to protecting your vision with sunglasses and hats with visors in bright sunlight and visored hats that shield ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Make an appointment with your eye doctor as soon as you notice any changes in your vision, so they can check for signs of macular degeneration and recommend any necessary treatments or medications to halt its progress.

Research has demonstrated that those who engage in physical activity tend to have lower risks of macular degeneration than their less active peers. A study of 3,800 participants observed that those running 2-4 kilometers daily had a 19% reduced risk of AMD than nonrunners.