(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
Living with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)
People who have any type of age-related macular degeneration can try to cope with their condition (and try to reduce worsening of symptoms) through the following strategies:
- Caution when driving - age-related macular vision causes blindness in central vision, so it may impair your ability to drive, if your symptoms are severe. Check with your doctor if you can drive and ensure you don't drive in poor weather, at night or when it is raining, because your vision will not be very good in these conditions
- Depression- there is a great deal of evidence that shows that people with age-related macular degeneration, who are losing their vision, may develop depression, due to their feelings becoming quite intense about their loss of vision, loss of autonomy and other issues related to this condition. If your feelings start to overwhelm you and especially if they are negative and pessimistic (and not normal for you), do see your doctor to get some advice about your treatment options
- Eye specialist - ensure you see your eye specialist on a regular basis (as often as required) and make sure you know how much of the medication (or supplements) you have been given to take and always let your eye doctor know if your symptoms are getting worse, of if the medications (or supplements) are causing any side effects, as they may need to adjusted. Your eye specialist can also advise if you are a suitable candidate for eye surgery to correct your vision problems or not
- Glasses - ensure you have the right prescription glasses for your eyes, to help you see a little better
- Healthy diet - you must eat healthy food, such as fresh fruit (2-3 per day) and vegetables (5-7 portions a day), but especially leafy green, orange and red fruits and vegetables as they are full of the nutrients vital for eye health (lutein, zeaxanthin, betacarotene), nuts and seeds, oily fish about 2-3 times a week (mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout, tuna), legumes most days, wholegrains, some low fat dairy, poultry and some red meat 2-3 times a week. Always try to use fresh produce and organic is better as it has more of the nutrients available in the food than non-organic
- Help from family and friends - you may need help with shopping, with housework and paying bills (and other home maintenance), so if you have any family or close friends living near you, it would be very helpful for you, if you could ask them for their help
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- Make your home clutter free - you will need to remove any clutter around your home, or anything on the floor that may make it easy for you to trip and fall
- Maintain normal blood pressure - if you have high blood pressure, you need to make sure it is reduced so that it is normal. High blood pressure is implicated both in the development of and in worsening the symptoms and progression of age-related macular degeneration due the the increased blood pressure in the eyes, which can damage the macular
- Proper lighting - make sure you have proper lighting in your home so that you can see better
- Special large letter appliances - you may be able to purchase some special large lettering appliances (clocks, telephones, radios) which have extra large lettering to help you read them better
- Stop smoking - if you smoke cigarettes, you have to give them up, because cigarette smoking is implicated as a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration. Smoking damages the fine blood vessels in the retina and macular and it also robs the body of a number of the antioxidant vitamins (such as vitamin C), which are vitally necessary for the health of the eye, so if you have been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, you must stop smoking, to reduce any further damage to the eye and worsening of symptoms and disease progression
- Travel with other people - if your central vision is no longer clear, try to get your friends and family to take you out when you need to do your errands, or use a bus (or other public transport), or even find a community bus which can take you from door to door and help you too
- Use a magnifying glass to read - a good magnifying glass can help to enlarge letters so that they do not appear fuzzy, which makes them easier to read
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< 10: alternative treatment 12: caring for someone with ARMD > Last reviewed: 14 September 2007 || Last updated: 15 March 2009
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
