February is AMD Awareness Month

Posted in General, Uncategorized | February 2, 2015

February comes a good month to either begin your understanding of or to grow your appreciation for the impact of age related macular degeneration, or sometimes simply called AMD, can have on a person’s life. This can affect both the individual that it medically affects and that person’s family. This surprisingly common ailment affects many people as they age, but can be controlled to a point. 
Over 50? This is why your vision is decreasing. 
It is quite common for people to lose their ability to properly focus as they get older. The once flexible lens becomes stiffer taking more time to zero in on letters and numbers. For people over the age of 40, the inability to focus tends to result in the use of reading glasses. AMD has become the leading cause of vision loss, particularly in the central parts of the eyes, as one gets older. Particularly for those aged 50+, this is why vision tends to decrease with time. Take heart Sugarland Eye & Laser Center clinic has many options that can help your condition such as LASIK or laser eye surgery. 
The macula, the RPE and how these can go wrong. 
At only 5 millimeters across, the macula is a tiny place even within your eye. Seated at the back, it is extremely packed with the rods and cones that allow your eyes to detect both lightness and darkness and color. Without your macula, you will not have proper central vision, which makes focusing your vision on anything all but impossible. Clarity in this section means clarity in your overall eyesight, and the lack thereof also transfers just as readily. 
Behind the rods and cones, a layer of cells exist called the retinal pigment epithelium. This group of cells acts as an insulator that keeps the rods and cones nourished and able to operate at their full potential, keeping a good blood supply flowing to them and drawing away waste products from their cells. These cells also function as a filter that keeps as many bad things as possible from entering the rods and cones. Unfortunately, as a filter the RPE is also in the line of fire when something does enter. When the cells in the RPE die, your macula can no longer do its job of letting you focus properly because your roads and cones can no longer receive what they need to work. 
Wet and Dry AMD
In dry AMD, which is what 9 out of 10 cases are, the cells merely break down over a period of years. In a reasonable number of cases, a person with dry AMD can still function and can even continue to read. The damage in this case proceeds slowly; with the early stage sometimes last for years before symptoms even become obvious enough for some to seek out an eye doctor’s opinion. 
However, wet AMD is an entirely different animal. In this case, which is often referred to as exudative or neovascular AMD, a new blood vessel grows. This vessel is not normal, being too weak to work properly and often leaking fluids. In this case, mere house can affect a change in the individual’s eyesight, and months can be the difference between formerly good vision and a significant loss of vision. 
Do not fear. Sugarland Eye & Laser Center in Houston has solutions. Stop by and chat with the friendly staff. They will point you to the latest information and even set up a consultation. 
 
Sources: 
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/age-related-macular-degeneration-leaflet
https://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts
 
Sugarland Eye & Laser Center leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The Center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Sugarland Eye & Laser Center, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478 or visit us at www.houston-lasik.com. 
 
About the Author
Amjad Khokhar, M.D. is Chief LASIK Surgeon at Sugarland Eye & Laser Center. Add Dr. Khokhar on Google+ here. 
 :