Macular Degeneration And How It May Affect Your Eyes November 1 http://www.cheapmlbjerseysbraves.com/Chipper-Jones-Jersey/ , 2013 | Author: Armand Zeiders | Posted in Business Our eyesight is of utmost importance because our daily activities greatly depend on it, not to mention our enjoyment of life. Eye diseases and disorders are very common which sometimes makes keeping our eyesight safe a challenging task. Macular degeneration is one eye disorder that is considered an age-related condition. Adults aged 60 or older are usually the ones who are suffering from it and this is one of the leading causes of blindness affecting millions of people in the United States. In this disease, the center of our vision field is severely affected.
The center area of our retina is called the macula and this is the part which gets affected and damaged with macular degeneration. To see objects clearly and help in our everyday activities, we need our central vision. People with this type of disease often develop a blind spot or have wavy or blurry vision. However http://www.cheapmlbjerseysbraves.com/Bob-Uecker-Jersey/ , it is important to consider that this only prevents people from being able to read or recognize faces and that peripheral vision is not affected. While it is not curable, it is not a disease that causes complete blindness.
There are two forms of macular degeneration. One is known as wet macular degeneration and the other is called dry macular degeneration. The first one occurs when abnormal blood vessels behind the retina start to grow and this leads to the leakage of fluid and blood. This should not be overlooked since this can cause serious damage to your eyes and may result to rapid central vision loss. On the other hand, dry macular degeneration happens when the macula simply wears out as a result of the aging process. This is the more common among the two and progresses more slowly compared to the wet form.
This disease is considered to be hereditary which means that there is a larger probability of acquiring it when there is a family history of the disease and there are also other risk factors that are associated with macular degeneration. For example, people who are smokers and those with hypertension http://www.cheapmlbjerseysbraves.com/Bobby-Cox-Jersey/ , elevated cholesterol or those who are obese or consume a highly fatty diet are considered high risk groups that may have macular degeneration in the future.
One of the several treatments used for this disease today which was made with the help of modern science is a drug called ranibizumab. This is a special type of treatment known as a monoclonal antibody treatment. Ranibizumab is injected once each month into the affected eye. These antibodies then stimulate the patient’s immune system to attack the problem directly forcing an immune response. Only the wet form of the disease is treated with ranibizumab, which was created using custom monoclonal antibodies.
In addition to treatments, people can learn to use their peripheral vision