An eye condition where one looses their central vision (what they can see in front of them).
It is when the macular part of the eye which collects the light is not functioning as it should.
There are three forms of this condition:
Dry-Age-Realated macular Degeneration (DARD):
Symptoms slowly develop.
The retinal pigment epithelium breaks down and is responsible to provide nutrients to retina and get rid of waste.
Lack of food and/or waste proteins made of lipids build up (dreusen) that causes light cells in macular to get damaged.
Wet-Age-Related macular Degenration (WARD):
Symptoms appear suddenly.
Same as DARD, but also new blood vessels form to remove waste proteins (drusen), the new blood vessels leaks fluid and blood into your eye causing serious symptoms.
Jeuvenile macular Degeneration:
Symptoms occur at birth or young, normally inherited.
Conditions include:
Bests disease (mild-yellow, fatty tissue in the macula)
Stargardt’s disease (common- where the eye that collect light photoreceptors die)
Sorsbys dystrophy (commonly occurs in 30-40 years olds).
Cause
Unknown
Age (Most cases start developing in people aged 50 or over and rise sharply with age. It’s estimated 1 in every 10 people over 65 has some signs)
NHS Choices
Problem with macula (spot at the centre of your retina (the nerve tissue that lines the back of your eye ,where incoming rays of light are focused. It helps you see things directly in front of you and is used for close, detailed activities, such as reading and writing).
One should have routine eye tests at least every two years but if one has concerns one should book an eye test at any point
Persons over 40 years should have eye test at least every 2 years and you must tell drivers authority if it affects your driving
Exercise your eyes
Focus change
This exercise works by challenging your focus. It should be done from a seated position.
Hold your pointer finger a few inches away from your eye.
Focus on your finger.
Slowly move your finger away from your face, holding your focus.
Look away for a moment, into the distance.
Focus on your outstretched finger and slowly bring it back toward your eye.
Look away and focus on something in the distance.
Repeat three times.
Near and far focus
This is another focus exercise.
As with the previous one, it should be done from a seated position.
Hold your thumb about 10 inches from your face and focus on it for 15 seconds.
Find an object roughly 10 to 20 feet away, and focus on it for 15 seconds.
Return your focus to your thumb.
Repeat five times.
Figure eight
This exercise should be done from a seated position as well.
Pick a point on the floor about 10 feet in front of you and focus on it.
Trace an imaginary figure eight with your eyes.
Keep tracing for 30 seconds, then switch directions.
20-20-20 rule
Eye strain is a real problem for a lot of people. Human eyes are not supposed to be glued to a single object for extended periods of time. If you work at a computer all day, the 20-20-20 rule may help prevent digital eye strain.
To implement this rule, every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Vision therapy
Vision therapy may include eye exercises, but only as part of a more specialised treatment program done under the supervision of an eye doctor, optometrist, or ophthalmologist.
The goal of vision therapy can be to strengthen the eye muscles.
It also can help to retrain poor visual behaviour, or help with eye tracking issues.
Healthline : Medically reviewed by Ann Marie Griff, O.D. — Written by Corinne O’Keefe Osborn — Updated on September 29, 2018
Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist/Optician) for further advice
Detailed Information
Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Macular Degeneration in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).
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Exercise your eyes
Focus change
This exercise works by challenging your focus. It should be done from a seated position.
Hold your pointer finger a few inches away from your eye.
Focus on your finger.
Slowly move your finger away from your face, holding your focus.
Look away for a moment, into the distance.
Focus on your outstretched finger and slowly bring it back toward your eye.
Look away and focus on something in the distance.
Repeat three times.
Near and far focus
This is another focus exercise.
As with the previous one, it should be done from a seated position.
Hold your thumb about 10 inches from your face and focus on it for 15 seconds.
Find an object roughly 10 to 20 feet away, and focus on it for 15 seconds.
Return your focus to your thumb.
Repeat five times.
Figure eight
This exercise should be done from a seated position as well.
Pick a point on the floor about 10 feet in front of you and focus on it.
Trace an imaginary figure eight with your eyes.
Keep tracing for 30 seconds, then switch directions.
20-20-20 rule
Eye strain is a real problem for a lot of people. Human eyes are not supposed to be glued to a single object for extended periods of time. If you work at a computer all day, the 20-20-20 rule may help prevent digital eye strain.
To implement this rule, every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Vision therapy
Vision therapy may include eye exercises, but only as part of a more specialised treatment program done under the supervision of an eye doctor, optometrist, or ophthalmologist.
The goal of vision therapy can be to strengthen the eye muscles.
It also can help to retrain poor visual behaviour, or help with eye tracking issues.
Healthline : Medically reviewed by Ann Marie Griff, O.D. — Written by Corinne O’Keefe Osborn — Updated on September 29, 2018
