(http://www.PreserveMacForte.com) People who want to keep on top of their eye health program should be mindful of certain symptoms that may suggest the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), reported KCRA.com recently.
Studies have shown that many people fear the possibility of one day losing their sense of sight. In fact, many of these people would much rather lose any of their other sense than lose their ability to see. While there are things people can do to lessen their risks of coming down with sight-impairment ailments, reducing the odds isn’t the same as eliminating them altogether. So people need to stay on top of their eye health regimen by seeing their eye doctors at least once a year for eye exams.
That said, if they experience any of the following symptoms, they should immediately make an appointment to see their eye doctor, according to the article:
- A decline in the capacity to see clearly – this would include problems with discerning fine print or requiring additional light for reading
- A decline in the capacity to discern different colors
- Imprecise vision, such as curvy lines that should be straight
- A dark spot developing close to the center of vision
- Problems seeing at a distance
- Shadowy vision
According to the article, there are two forms of AMD, the wet form and the dry form. The wet version is the most serious of the two. The article noted that 10% of AMD cases involve the wet form, which develops when new blood vessels located behind the retina begin to grow beneath the macula. These new blood vessels typically leak fluids beneath the macula, which not only harms the macula, but also leads to substantial loss of vision. The dry type of macular degeneration occurs when cells located in the macula start to die. This leads to blurred central vision in the eye affected.
AMD generally only impacts the elderly, but that doesn’t mean that all older people will have to deal with the ailment. In fact, staying in shape, keeping blood pressure under control, and eating lots of leafy green vegetables and seafood loaded with omega-3 fatty acids can go a long way towards keeping the eyes healthy.