Macular Degeneration - Symptoms, causes and treatment

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or macular degeneration is a visual impairment in the elderly. Old people who are affected by this disease will feel blurry vision, which starts from the middle of the vision. This condition will affect the ability to read, drive, write, or recognize people's faces.

The cause of macular degeneration is not known with certainty, but it is thought to involve several factors, such as genetics and environment.

Causes of Macular Degeneration

Almost all patients with macular degenerationage-related macular degeneration) are over 60 years old, and are more common in women than men. In addition to age, a number of other factors that put a person at risk for macular degeneration are:

  • Smoking habit
  • Obesity
  • Hypertension
  • There are family members with macular degeneration
  • Frequent exposure to the sun
  • Caucasian Ethnic

Symptoms of Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration is a progressive disease whose condition can worsen over time. The main symptom of macular degeneration is a decrease in the patient's visual ability, especially the center of the visual field.

This decrease in the ability of vision is usually characterized by the appearance of lines in vision and vision becoming blurry. As a result, people with macular degeneration will find it difficult to recognize a person's face. People with macular degeneration will also find it difficult to see in dimly lit rooms or places.

Initial symptoms will develop slowly before becoming a severe complaint, which takes 5-10 years. When macular degeneration (age-related macular degeneration) develops further, patients can experience 2 different types of symptoms, namely symptoms of wet or dry macular degeneration.

This difference occurs due to differences in the damage that occurs to the macula (yellow spot) of the eye. Visual impairment in wet macular degeneration develops faster than dry macular degeneration.

The early symptoms of macular degeneration may not be felt, especially if the degeneration only occurs in one eye. Therefore, it is important to have regular eye examinations to the eye doctor.

When to go to the doctor

See a doctor immediately if you experience problems with vision, such as blurry vision or feel something is different when you see colors. Macular degeneration occurs in people over the age of 50. Therefore, for those aged over 50 years, immediately visit a doctor if you experience the slightest visual disturbance.

Regular eye examinations to the ophthalmologist need to be carried out even though there are no complaints in the eyes and vision. Examination is recommended every 2 years for people under the age of 40 years and once every 1-2 years for people aged 40 years and over.

Macular Degeneration Diagnosis

As has been said before, the symptoms of macular degeneration are often not felt by the sufferer, so a person sometimes finds out he has this disease when doing an eye examination.

If you suspect macular degeneration (age-related macular degeneration), the doctor will perform an Amsler line test. In this test, the patient is asked to look at several pictures that have vertical or horizontal lines. If the examination reveals abnormalities, the doctor will perform a further examination of the back of the eye, using a special instrument called an ophthalmoscope.

The doctor will also take pictures of the back of the eye to see changes in the macula, by examining:

  • Optical coherence tomography

    Optical coherence tomography This is done by using a special light to see disorders of the macula in more detail.

  • Fluorescein angiography

    This test is done by injecting a special dye into the blood vessels, to look for leaks in the eye blood vessels.

Macular Degeneration Treatment

Treatment of macular degenerationage-related macular degeneration) aims to maximize the quality of vision, as well as to prevent macular degeneration from getting worse.

For early-stage macular degeneration, there is no treatment whatsoever. Patients will be advised to have regular eye exams every year. To slow down the damage, sufferers will be advised to:

  • Quit smoking.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Maintain ideal body weight.
  • Eat foods that contain antioxidants, such as spinach, broccoli, and beans.
  • Eat foods that contain lots of zinc, for example beef, milk, cheese, yogurt, and whole grain bread.
  • Take supplements that contain zinc, vitamin E and vitamin C.

If macular degeneration has entered an advanced stage, depending on whether it is wet or dry, your ophthalmologist can suggest several treatment methods, such as:

  • Artificial lens installation

    This action can make the image clearer and larger in certain areas.

  • Administration of anti-inflammatory drugsVEGF (anti-vascular endothelial growth factor)

    Anti VEGF is injected directly into the eyeball to help improve vision and prevent blurry vision.

  • Laser therapy

    This therapy is done to prevent macular degeneration sufferers from losing their vision.

If this visual impairment does not improve, people with macular degeneration will be advised to undergo visual rehabilitation. This rehabilitation helps sufferers to adapt to changes in their vision.

There are several tips that macular degeneration sufferers can do to adjust to the vision changes they experience, including:

  • Use a magnifying glass.
  • Purchase a book with a larger letter or number display.
  • Change the display of electronic device screens to be brighter with larger letters.
  • Using the voice system assistance (if any) on every electronic device used, such as a computer.
  • Replace the lamp with a brighter one.
  • Ask a family member to help drive.

Complications

Blindness is the most feared complication of macular degeneration.age-related macular degeneration). A person who cannot see is at risk of being isolated from the social environment, thus suffering from depression. Blindness due to macular degeneration can also cause sufferers to experience visual hallucinations (Charles-Bonnet syndrome).

Although macular degeneration can cause vision loss, the patient does not actually lose vision completely, because macular degeneration does not affect peripheral vision.

Prevention of Macular Degeneration

macular degeneration (age-related macular degeneration) can be prevented in several ways, including:

  • Quit smoking.
  • Protect your eyes from the sun by using glasses with special lenses, which protect your eyes from sun exposure.
  • Perform routine eye tests to detect eye disorders early.
  • Increase foods that contain antioxidants, such as vegetables and fruit.
  • Increase consumption of foods containing vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and copper.