Macular degeneration, as the name suggests, solely affects the macula that causes an obstruction to your eyesight. Various treatments emerged to lessen your symptoms while suffering from this inconvenient condition.
The macula lies on the central part of your eye, mainly responsible for interpreting light into images. In short, it assists you in viewing the world in front of you. This disease mainly preys on adults reaching their late fifties.
However, the symptoms don't arise till later stages. So your eyesight gets more and more distorted onwards. Luckily, people don't go completely blind from this disease.
No need to get anxious, as we've gathered knowledge to provide you with the general symptoms and possible treatments for macular degeneration!
Macular degeneration typically comes in two forms - dry macular degeneration is usually genetic, while wet one is rare. Its symptoms and treatments include:
Both dry and wet macular degeneration have more or less the same possible symptoms. However, remember that wet macular degeneration is more chronic than dry one.
Yellow bits called drusen get deposited when suffering from dry macular degeneration, which damages the retina. On the other hand, people with wet macular degeneration often face fluid leakages.
During the initial stage, patients first deal with mild blurriness preventing them from seeing clearly.
The fuzzy vision gradually increases, making it difficult for them to view objects near them. But as it gets more prominent, straight lines start to look more rippled. Soon very distinct black spots begin to disrupt their vision.
Slowly dim lighting starts bothering their eyes. It means brighter lights are required to do their chores. It also gets troublesome to read books with smaller fonts.
Moreover, familiar faces also become confusing to be recognized. Other rare symptoms of an extreme form of wet macular degeneration include distortion in the color or size of objects. People may perceive differently from the affected eye than the normal one. Occasionally flashes also arise in the middle of your vision.
Generally, this disorder can never be perfectly treated. However, the damages can be tamed over time.
You should proceed with some lifestyle changes when coming across any symptoms of this disorder. Replace your carb intake with leafy salads and plenty of proteins. It's essential to exercise regularly to maintain healthy blood pressure. Remember, it's forbidden to smoke!
Moreover, wear protective contacts and sunglasses when going outside to protect your eyes from UV rays.
Consult a healthcare professional to start taking nutritional supplements. Daily intake of vitamins C and E and the right amount of zinc and copper doses can save you from vision loss. Zeaxanthin and lutein are also included, as they are powerful antioxidants that prevent damage to the macula.
Your vision is necessary for completing everyday tasks like driving or cooking. This is why low vision rehabilitation can exercise your leftover vision for adapting to your new life with vision impairment.
Glasses can't correct your vision loss from dry macular degeneration. That's why telescopic lenses can be surgically implanted in your pupils to expand your vision. This surgery is usually carried out in one eye to zoom in on both your near and distant sight.
Now moving on to the more acute form of macular degeneration, medications and therapy are recommended by doctors. These drugs can't completely treat this disorder but they prevent further damage to your vision.
Previously laser photocoagulation used to be implemented for sealing leakage from blood vessels. It was also used to burn off any remaining damaged vessels which distort your vision. As a result, patients were able to see with much more comfort.
Typically you're injected with drugs that block the formation of abnormal blood vessels nowadays. These excessive blood vessels are responsible for your blurry sight. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor shots include Aflibercept which prevents any kind of protein leakage from the eye, while Ranibizumab fuses its receptors to tone down fuzzy eyesight.
Along with these injection shots, photodynamic therapy can also be incorporated to reduce further stimulation of your blood vessels. Your healthcare therapist can pair these two treatments together in order to mend leaky vessels. This ensures you with a stable form of your vision.
Studies are also being conducted on using stem cells to restore retinal functionalities.
Red light therapy emerged as the latest remedy for both dry and wet macular degeneration. Similar to other treatments, using low-level red light can only reduce the progression of this disorder. This light passes through your retina while soothing it and, in turn, strengthening it more than before
This therapy makes your eyes focus better in dark rooms allowing you to see better with less eye stress. It also enhances the color and contrast of your eyesight, making you see clearly.
Any retinal inflammation is cured using red light therapy beds. Your leaky vessels can be fixed and prevent further cell damage from this disease.
Macular degeneration possesses major complications in your 20/20 vision. After tagging along, you're probably familiar with the symptoms and treatments to put an end to the damage caused by this disorder.
In a nutshell, no amount of treatment can turn the clock back on, reversing the adverse effects of both dry and wet macular degeneration. Its symptoms include blurry vision with darkened spots disrupting the eyesight. Vitamin supplements, vision rehabilitation, and telescopic lens surgeries are recommended for minor versions.
But for severe ones, laser photocoagulation, drug shots, and photodynamic therapy are implemented. Make sure to take regular eye examinations to keep track of your symptoms.
Therefore, by properly conducting these treatments, you can successfully mitigate the inconveniences caused by macular degeneration.
