(ARMD)?
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- What is ARMD?
- Symptoms of ARMD
- Causes of ARMD
- Prevention of ARMD
- Risk factors for ARMD
- Complications of ARMD
- When to see a doctor about ARMD
- Diagnosis of ARMD
- Conventional treatment of ARMD
- Alternative/complementary treatment of ARMD
- Living with ARMD
- Caring for someone with ARMD
What is age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)?
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is a degenerative disease that affects the macular of the eye. The macular is a part of the central area of the retina and allows the eye to be able to view objects close up, to enable us to read and write and it also allows us to be able to see all the different colours.
If the cells of the macular become damaged and stops working properly, then the macular degenerates and it can cause blindness. If caught early, the progression of the disease can be slowed down.
Since AMD starts in one eye before it affects the other eye, it can sometimes make it more difficult to detect as the "good" eye often compensates for the vision difficulties in the "bad" eye.
AMD is the form of macular degeneration which occurs as a result of ageing. Macular degeneration is a broad term which described any type of degeneration of the macular due to any reason.
There are two types of macular degeneration (MD), which are defined by how the macular appears to the ophthalmologist (eye specialist) viewing it the macular through their equipment:
- Dry (atrophic) - most common form of MD; causes gradual loss of central vision
- Wet (exudative) - least common form of MD; causes bleeding and scarring behind the retina (a leaking of the blood vessels), which can lead to loss of vision
Age-related macular degeneration is also shortened to AMD (or ARMD).
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Some facts about ARMD
- Some people's vision deteriorates really slowly over a long time, so they may not even realise their macular is degenerating and that they are slowly going blind
- Degeneration of the macular can cause vision loss
- One in seven Australians over 50 years will develop age-related macular degeneration
- Having any type of macular degeneration does not normally hurt, so that could be why most people do not even realise it is happening until it is almost too late (when they start to go blind)
- Regular eye examinations can detect age-related macular degeneration before it causes vision loss
- Wet AMD is more treatable than dry AMD before it progresses to an advanced stage
- An important study has shown that certain antioxidants such as vitamin A, betacarotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and zinc appear to have a beneficial effect on dry AMD and specifically on halting progress of vision loss
- Age-related macular degeneration is also known as AMD.
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