Imagine this – you are out in
the park with your little daughter. She is wearing a bright red dress with
yellow, green and white flowers embroidered into the skirt. She is wearing
black shoes with cute little red bows on it. You both are walking your dog which
is a golden retriever named Rocky. Your daughter is holding on to an Angry Bird
balloon. You can hear peals of laughter from your daughter as your dog Rocky
attempts to jump up and grab the balloon from her. The sun is shining brightly,
there are other people in the park – jogging, walking, cycling, exercising,
doing yoga, etc. This entire scenario registers in your mind beautifully. Do
you know why? Because of your eyes. Now if you had Age Related Macular
Degeneration, this scenario would have been flipped. Everything would
be a blur to you depending on your symptoms. The colours and details on your
daughter’s dress would appear blurry or you would not be able to see certain
things completely. Your vision could be distorted and you wouldn’t be able to see
your dog clearly – you would only be able to see from the sides of your eyes or
from your peripheral vision.
Not sure what this means?
Imagine a wall clock. People with normal vision can see the clock. While if
someone with age related macular degeneration would have to look at the same
clock, he or she would only be able to see the outline of the clock but not the
face and the hands of the clock. The face and hands of the clock would be
blurred or they would see dark spots there. This is what age related macular
degeneration does to you.
So what is age related macular
degeneration (AMD) and are you at risk? AMD is the deterioration or breakdown
of the eye's macula. The macula is a small area in the retina — the
light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. The macula is the part of
the retina that is responsible for your central vision, allowing you to see
fine details clearly. This is why when the macula is affected, you see clearly
from the sides but not from the centre where your macula is. The macula
actually makes up only part of the retina of your eye, but it is more sensitive
to detail than the rest of your retina. The macula allows you to do things like
threading a needle, reading a sign, reading small print, seeing and recognizing
a face, etc. Macular degeneration is something that you develop as part of your
body’s natural aging process which is why it only affects old people. There are
different kinds of macular problems, but the most common is age-related macular
degeneration (AMD).
Many people are not aware that
they have macular degeneration until they have a noticeable vision problem or
until it is detected during an eye examination. Apart from age, the other
factors that could cause macular degeneration are smoking, family history and
genetics.
Researchers have found links
between AMD and some lifestyle choices, such as smoking. You might be able to
reduce your risk of AMD or slow its progression by making healthy choices in
your lifestyle. You could avoid smoking, exercise regularly, maintain normal
blood pressure and cholesterol levels, eat a healthy diet rich in green, leafy
vegetables and fish.
Take care and have a lovely vision.
