Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a condition that affects your central vision. As damage occurs to the macula, which is the centre portion of the retina, the central vision becomes less sharp and gradually this area will lose vision altogether. This loss of central vision severely impacts a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks, particularly those that require detailed vision such as driving, reading, or identifying faces. To help prevent or slow the development of AMD, there are several steps an optometrist recommends a person take to keep their eyes healthy for longer and preserve vision.
Optometrist-Recommended Steps To Prevent AMD
Protect Your Eyes From UV Rays
UV rays are forms of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the sun. These UV rays can cause damage to the eyes and can lead to the early development of various eye conditions, including AMD. To help protect your eyes from UV rays and preserve your eye health, avoid direct sunlight, especially when UV rays are strongest (typically between 10am and 4pm). To help keep your eyes out of the sun and away from harmful UV rays, you can wear a hat and UV-blocking sunglasses. In order to protect your eyes from UV rays, your sunglasses must specify they are UV-blocking, as not all sunglasses are. To learn more about UV and your eyes, read UV Safety Awareness Month: Protect Your Eyes From Sun Damage. If you already wear eyeglasses, you can speak to your optometrist about UV-blocking eyeglasses coatings or prescription sunglasses.
Eat Well
Eating a variety of healthy foods including citrus fruits, whole grains, fish, and nuts, is excellent for your general eye health. But if you’re looking to specifically fight AMD, eat lots of leafy greens. Vegetables such as spinach, kale, collard greens, broccoli, and romaine lettuce have high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin. These antioxidants help to maintain the health of the macula. Your optometrist may also recommend taking supplements if you need help getting the nutrients you need.
Quit Smoking
Smoking doubles your risk of developing AMD compared to non-smokers. Not only has smoking been linked to an increased risk of the development of this condition, but it has also been linked to the quickening of AMD progression once it is already present. The free radicals released in cigarette smoke cause cellular damage that prevents nutrients from reaching the retina. To protect your eye health, quitting smoking is essential. Of course, trying to quit smoking can be incredibly difficult and your optometrist may be able to make recommendations to help you on your journey.
Control Your Blood Pressure
Hypertension and other forms of poor blood circulation can cause damage to the eyes, including elevating your risk for developing AMD. High blood pressure can damage the delicate blood vessels within the eye and cause the early onset of AMD. To learn how to control your blood pressure and to know how your blood pressure can affect your health, you may want to speak with both your optometrist and your doctor.
Know Your Family History
While you can take steps to reduce your risk of developing AMD and protect your eye health, AMD is also partially hereditary. Knowing if AMD runs in your family or not will let you and your optometrist know if you are at greater risk of developing this condition.
Regularly Visit The Optometrist
You may begin to develop AMD without noticing it at first. By the time symptoms being to develop, they will be irreversible. To detect the beginning of AMD development before it affects your vision, you need to visit your optometrist regularly. This is the only way to catch AMD early and work on an AMD management plan to slow or stop the progression of this condition.
Visit A Calgary Optometrist For AMD Prevention
If you want to lower your risk of developing AMD, visit your optometrist for a comprehensive eye exam. Your optometrist will search for any signs of AMD development and they will discuss what factors may put you at risk of developing this condition. If you have any concerns, you can bring them up with a Blink Eyewear optometrist and you can discuss your eye health and any necessary lifestyle changes. With three convenient locations in Crowfoot in NW Calgary, West Springs in SW Calgary, and Creekside in NW Calgary, Blink Eyewear can offer you great optometry services throughout the city. To book an appointment with Blink Eyewear, call 1-403-516-2292 or fill out the online contact form.
