There are millions of Americans all over the country suffering from the effects of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD). While treatment for Age-Related Macular Degeneration is limited, there are many different options for people to slow the progress of the degenerative eye disease.
What is Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
Age-Related Macular Degeneration is a serious eye disease that affects the retina, distorting and deteriorating your ability to see crisp, clear objects. For people over the age of 50, the arteries that run to the retina can harden, preventing blood from reaching the cells vital for your vision.
When the arteries simply harden and stop providing the retina with the blood it need to function, it is referred to as “dry” macular degeneration. For some people, the eye disease doesn’t stop there. The body can attempt to form new blood vessels to supply the retina with the blood it needs; unfortunately this tissue can damage the retina you can lose the majority of your vision.
If you live in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and would like to prevent the onset of Age-Related Macular Degeneration, the best thing you can do is schedule a consultation with an experienced optometrist or ophthalmologist.
In addition to scheduling your Age-Related Macular Degeneration consultation, there are a few different safety measures you can take during everyday life to help avoid developing ARMD:
- Stop Smoking – Perhaps the biggest step you can take, smoking not only puts you at risk for many other health problems, but smokers are four times more likely to develop Age-Related Macular Degeneration
- Maintain a Healthy Diet – A diet rich in leafy, green foods can help prevent Age-Related Macular Degeneration because the carotenoids within the vegetables decrease the risk of developing or advancing ARMD
- Eat More Fish – While this may coincide with the second suggestions, studies have shown that people who eat more than two servings of fish every week are 45% less likely to develop ARMD than people who rarely eat fish
- Exercise Regularly – Maintaining a regular exercise program can help you keep your cardiovascular system healthy, making you less likely to develop the hard arteries that lead to ARMD
- Wear Sunglasses – Overexposure to the sun is directly linked to developing Age-Related Macular Degeneration, which is why is it important to wear sunglasses when going outside or participating in outdoor activities
If you’ve already taken some of these precautions, the best thing you can do now is to schedule regular eye exams.
If you live in Charlotte, North Carolina and would like to learn more about ARMD, please visit the website of Horizon Eye Care today.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/vision-articles/how-to-fight-agerelated-macular-degeneration-1580384.html
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You probably know that if you stay in the sun all day with no sunscreen or UV-blocking clothing, you will be burnt. Most people also know that if they do this for years, they may have a lovely suntan, but their skin will be damaged and will eventually develop patches of discoloration, wrinkles, and a leathery texture.
Do you also know that the eyes can be sunburnt? If you expose your eyes to too much sunshine for too many years, they can be permanently damaged in ways that will impair your eyesight. Ultraviolet light can be kept from causing eye damage if you:
- Stay out of the sun; or
- Wear polarized and well-designed sunglasses
But most of us love being outdoors on a sunny day; and many people wear low-quality sunglasses if they wear any at all.
If you wear a shady hat, you are protecting yourself partially but not fully. UV rays are reflected off many surfaces, such as snow, water, and cement and will enter your eyes from beneath your hat. However, good sunglasses plus a hat will protect you well. The best sunglasses have polarized lenses and frames with protection at the sides and top.
Three Types of UV Rays
- UVA rays – These have the lowest energy but can travel through the cornea (clear front part of the eye) to the lens and retina (“camera film” at the back of the eye) and damage your eyesight.
- UVB rays – These have higher energy but are partially filtered by the earth’s ozone layer. They stimulate the skin to produce more melanin (pigment), thus giving you a suntan; but in higher doses they contribute to cancer formation on the skin, growths on the eyes, and “snow blindness”, which is temporary vision loss caused by burned corneas.
- UVC rays – These have the highest energy but the ozone layer blocks most of them.
UV Rays and Eye Problems
Too much UVA exposure has been linked to cataracts – clouding of the lens that blocks light from reaching the retina and thereby reduces vision. Left untreated, cataracts will cause total blindness. UVA rays have also been linked to macular degeneration – deterioration of the retina’s central area that gives us our color perception and our sharpest vision in bright lighting conditions. Macular degeneration also causes total blindness.
The cornea blocks most of the sun’s UVB radiation, protecting the lens and retina from harm. But too much UVB exposure can cause growths called pingueculae. They are yellowish lumps on the sclera (white part) close to the cornea. Usually they occur in older people but depending on how much sun exposure there is, they can be found in young people and even children. Dryness, dust, and wind can inflame them, causing pain and redness.
In some cases, pingueculae lead to pterygia, which are wedge-shaped growths that may extend right into the cornea and directly impair your eyesight. They are quite visible to others, affecting your whole facial appearance.
Sun damage to the eyes is cumulative. That makes it important to protect your children’s eyes so that when they reach mid-life their eyesight might be free of the above problems.
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