Age-Related Macular Degeneration

This month is about raising awareness about age-related macular degeneration (or AMD)! To learn more about what this is, please check out one of our articles on macular degeneration. 

In summary, aged-related macular degeneration is associated with a loss in central vision due to damage in the macula part of the eye. The name has "age-related" in it, so it should be no surprise that it is the leading cause of low vision in Americans over 60 years old. Other than age, you are more likely to develop it if you have a family history of it, if you smoke, or if you have a cardiovascular disease.

Smoking is one factor that can potentially increase your risk of getting macular degeneration.

What Should You Do?

You should be getting regular check-ups. Early symptoms of AMD are essentially undetectable. This means that it's likely that only your eye doctor can catch it early on. Of course, your eye doctor can only catch it if you go to regular eye check-up appointments. Your doctor will have to do a comprehensive dilated eye exam to check for it. It's a relatively quick, painless procedure. 

Be sure to get regular eye exams to catch AMD as early as possible.

We also often underestimate how much a balanced diet and exercise can help with conditions like this. Be sure that you are eating leafy greens and foods rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids, such as fish. While a good diet and exercise cannot completely prevent you from getting AMD, it can reduce the risk. 

Eating foods such as fish and greens can help reduce your risk of getting AMD. 

How Can I Help?

We know that those with AMD may not know what to do next. Some might not have access to the resources that they need. You can do something to help! There are many organizations that you can support to help those with AMD. For example, you can support the American Macular Degeneration Foundation. This foundation helps individuals with AMD, as well as their families. 

How Can I Live with AMD?

Even if you are already diagnosed with AMD, you can still have a really great life and do the things that you love! Again, a good diet and exercise are important to help you live with AMD. Eliminating smoking is also important, if possible. 

Also, be sure to stay in touch with you loved ones, because those diagnosed with AMD have a higher risk of dealing with depression/social isolation. During these times of social distancing, it's even more important to stay connected!

There is currently no specific cure or treatment for AMD, so you will need to use rehabilitation therapy or low vision aids to help with seeing. This will depend on how advanced our AMD is (in other words, how severe it is). You might have intermediate AMD, which means that your sight loss might not be as severe, or wet AMD, which is a more advanced, more severe stage, or something in between. 

Vision Buddy is a low vision aid that helps with different stages of AMD. In fact, most of our customers have this eye condition! Our product helps with magnification, reading, and TV watching so that you can still do many of the things that you love to do. Having AMD means that you have a new beginning. It may be difficult, but just like anything, you can adjust to it. And Vision Buddy can help you with this!

Do you want to know more? Feel free to read more of our blogs, give us a call at 1-833-787-2020, or email us at hello@visionbuddy.io!