In excess of 50% of people living in Scotland have never even heard about age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in the nation, reported STV News on March 19.
According to the article, the same proportion of Scots acknowledged that they would likely choose not to make an appointment to see their eye care specialist or physician if they experienced symptoms such as distorted vision or wavy lines.
Which is a shame, noted the article, because both of these symptoms happen to be the two initial warning signs of AMD, an eye ailment that can significantly harm vision within three months of settling in.
According to the article, Edinburgh-based George Kay was employed as a baker when he first discovered that something was not quite right. Unfortunately, it took almost three decades before he was finally diagnosed with AMD. And, at that point, he was nearly 100% blind.
The article cited Kay as saying that no one had mentioned AMD as a potential cause of his seeing issues until it was way too late. He added that it was his wife who, after reading a magazine article focusing on AMD, told him that his symptoms were similar to the ones described in the story. He added that laser treatment helped him recover enough of his sight “to get around.”
According to the article, Kay said that more of his sight would have been saved had he been able to get treatment sooner than he did. He acknowledged that he had never before even heard of AMD. Knowing what he does now, he regularly tells his family members to get their “eyes examined” since early detection can make all the difference.
The article noted that the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) recently conducted a survey asking people in Scotland if they were aware of AMD and what course of action they would take if they started to experience vision impairment.
RNIB Scotland Director John Legg said in the article that more needs to be done to ensure that more Scots learn about AMD since a lack of awareness will put more people at risk of “losing their sight.” He added that the survey also demonstrated that 12% of respondents thought that age-related macular degeneration was a condition that adversely impacted the brain rather than the eyes.
In excess of half a million people in the UK are living with AMD, and people who smoke, are overweight, drink too much liquor or have a family history of AMD are more likely than others to get the disease, according to the article.
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