(www.MacularDegenerations.com) Seniors living in the United States of America aren’t out of the woods when it comes to eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but a new study suggests that their eye health is better than was the eye heath of seniors a generation prior.
According to an article from the Poughkeepsie Journal, a study recently published in the Ophthalmology journal shows that the percentage of seniors whose problematic eye health adversely impacts their capacity to read decreased to 9.7% at the start of this decade from 23% in 1984. The study also reveals that there are substantially fewer elderly people living with vision issues that hamper their capacity to perform day-to-day tasks such as running errands and dressing themselves independently.
According to the article, the human body, as it ages, usually loses the elasticity of youth, which tends to lead to eye issues such as AMD, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. AMD adversely impacts the retina’s middle portion, which can ultimately lead to irreversible vision loss. The article explained that there are two types of AMD — the dry form and the wet form. The dry form is the initial stage of AMD. And, unfortunately, 10% of the people diagnosed with this form of the eye disease will ultimately develop the wet form of AMD. According to the article, wet AMD occurs due to leakage from retina blood vessels that causes central vision blind spots.
While scientists are not fully aware of the ins and outs of AMD, there is enough research to suggest that people can reduce their odds of getting the eye disease if they stay away from cigarettes, exercise regularly, steer clear of obesity, eat healthy meals, avoid excessive sun exposure, and go in for annual eye tests to catch any serious issues sooner rather than later. People who have a family history of AMD should see their eye care provider more regularly.
While AMD is usually the sort of disease to targets seniors, people need not believe that the eye disease is a normal part of aging. If they take preventative measures, they can either substantially lower their odds of being diagnosed with AMD or substantially slow down the eye disease’s progression.
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