Macular Degenerative Disease

Macular degenerative disease is usually referred to as Age-Related Macular Degeneration or ARMD. Being 'age-related' is this circumstance means that macular degenerative disease affects older people, usually over the age of 50. Macular degenerative disease refers to the loss of sight in the centre of the field of vision. This means that the sufferer of macular degenerative disease will have problems distinguishing faces and with reading.

Macular Degenerative Disease

There is a large clinical trial running from 2008-2014 to judge the efficacy of carotenoids in reducing the risk of developing macular degenerative disease. The increased consumption of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin may have a beneficial effect on the development of macular degenerative disease.

Omega 3 fatty acids seem to have a beneficial influence as well especially in the very early stages of macular degenerative disease. So might following a low glycaemic diet such as a diabetic might follow.

Omega 3 fatty acids can be found in a variety of foodstuffs but especially in oily fish such as tuna, salmon and mackerel, but the fresh form is far better than the tinned which loses some of its goodness in preparation.

Cause Of Macular Degeneration

The main cause of macular degeneration is age, which is why it is referred to as age-related macular degeneration. Roughly 10% of those between 66 and 74 will develop traces of macular degeneration. This rises to 30% for those between 75 and 85. Another cause of macular degeneration is family history. If there is a history of macular degenerative disease in your family, then you have a 50% chance of getting it yourself against a 12 % chance for those without a family history.

Macular Degeneration Glasses

There are no glasses that can help sufferers of macular degenerative disease, but a strong reading lens, often called a page reader can help you see with your peripheral vision. However, there are macular degeneration glasses that may help prevent the disease. These macular degeneration glasses use the Alta Eficacia Method of filtering certain frequencies of light that are thought to promote macular degenerative disease.

Wet Macular Degeneration Treatment

Wet macular degeneration treatment can take several forms, but it is important to realise that the macular only makes up 2.1% of the field of vision, so sufferers of macular degenerative disease rarely go totally blind because of this disease alone. Wet macular degeneration treatment was non-existent until fairly recently, but now there are new drugs called anti-angionics or anti-VEGF agents. This wet macular degeneration treatment involves injections into the eye once or twice a month.

Macular Degeneration Test

One home macular degeneration test for someone who is worried that they are contracting macular degenerative disease is if you find it harder to distinguish people's faces. Another home macular degeneration test for the disease is a difficulty in reading, but this is quite common in the over 50's anyway. Loss of contrast sensitivity is another home macular degeneration test and one that is carried out by eye specialists too. This contrast macular degeneration test measures your sensitivity to the distinction between various light colours and various dark colours.

by Owen Jones