Most commonly affecting patients over the age of 55, age-related macular degeneration is a chronic disease that affects central vision over time. While patients with early stages of the disease may not notice any change, those with advanced macular degeneration have profound visual deficiencies. If you have macular degeneration, consider these tips to help limit progression of your disease.
1) Check your amsler grid at home regularly . Changes with macular degeneration are usually more subtle across time, rather than dramatic. This means small changes may occur between follow-ups that patients can easily miss. Checking your grid at home, testing each eye separately, gives patients the best chance to detect small changes in the appearance of the grid. If you notices changes in the grid–missing or wavy lines–it’s important to call for an appointment. If you can’t find your Amsler grid-please stop by to pick one up, at no cost!
2) Quit smoking . For non-smokers, you’ve got this one covered. For patients who smoke, this is easier said than done. Simply put, smoking accelerates macular degeneration. After damage from macular degeneration occurs, very little can be done to reverse changes.
3) Take a multivitamin. Two studies (AREDS and AREDS2), have shown certain vitamins and micronutrients to help slow changes associated with macular degeneration. General multivitamins may contain portions of these ingredients, but brands such as TEBS (available at our front desk), OcuVite, PreserVision, and I-Caps are all formulated specifically for patients with macular degeneration.
5)Green leafy vegetables. A diet rich in green-leafy vegetables, such as kale or spinach, also help to slow damage from macular degeneration. If green vegetables aren’t appealing by themselves, incorporating them into smoothies is a sneaky way to add them to your diet.
If you or a loved have macular degeneration, please keep these tips in mind! Preventing further disease progression is the name of the game when it comes to macular degeneration.
