How to Prevent Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)?

AMD mainly influences a small area of the retina, which is also called the macula. When the cells in the macula are damaged, a series of macular degeneration symptoms will follow. In the beginning, people may find it hard to see the text clearly, and the situation won’t be improved even with the glasses. Then it’s getting blurred in the central area of the vision, and the straight lines seem to become curved.

Read more details of AMD: What is Macular Degeneration AMD?

Age-related macular degeneration is not horrible but a common eye disorder. The AMD and Low Vision Awareness Month promotes the awareness of macular degeneration treatment and prevention, and calls on citizens to pay more attention to vision loss issues. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), AMD is the leading reason that causes the loss of eyesight among the elderly. Thus, understanding this disease and keeping an eye on the low vision community is what we are inspired to do this month.

In line with the theme of AMD and Vision Loss Awareness Month, developing a healthy lifestyle is also essential to prevent age-related eye diseases like AMD.

Eat healthily

A common method that we’ve been mentioning several times is to eat healthily, which brings overall benefits for the seniors. The key principle is to take fresh fruits and especially leafy green vegetables, in order to get enough nutrition that the body needs. Recent research has shown that leafy green vegetables are beneficial for preventing many diseases, the trace elements in the vegetables help our cells and organs function well. Plus, it’s worth mentioning that eating fish on a regular basis is important due to the omega-3 fatty acids it contains.

Proper exercise

As AMD poor vision makes the life more difficult than usual, cultivating regular exercises could be the corresponding way to prevent the disease and promote the perception of the body in some ways. People who are accustomed to exercising are usually at a low risk of having diseases. It doesn’t have to worry if you don’t have any fitness habits before. There are many gentle and easy physical movements for the beginners when you start exercising. You can have the reference in the article: New Year, Let Us Keep Healthy - Exercises for the Low Vision.

Wear sunglasses

In the article, What is Macular Degeneration AMD?, pointed out that excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays is one of the causes of macular degeneration. The UV light in sunlight causes potential damage to the eyes and increases the risk of AMD. Therefore, wearing a pair of sunglasses while you staying in the sun is good protection for our eyes.

Quit smoking

You may hear a lot of news about how smoking is harmful to our bodies. Usually the hazard indicates the damages to the lungs. The World Health Organization (WHO) also emphasized the negative impacts of smoking on people’s lungs. Moreover, to speak of the harm to the eyes, smoking causes not only the internal dangers to the eye organs but also the external damage due to the smoke, such as dry eye syndrome. Quit smoking is necessary as it threats both the body and eye health.

People who have low vision with macular degeneration account for a large amount of the low vision population. Many seniors’ life is influenced by the disease, so people found solutions to improve the quality of their life. Among the many options, using the visually impaired aid is definitely the best one. The advancement of technology always should intend to improve the life. Meanwhile, the organization of Prevent Blindness also expressed that people who have the loss of vision with AMD could also be independent with the assistance of low vision aids, like the madam in the above-mentioned story. Caring for the people with AMD around us, not only in February but also every day.