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AMD, or age-related macular degeneration, is a common eye disease that can cause vision loss as you age. The macula is the part of your retina responsible for sharp, straight-ahead vision, and when it becomes damaged, AMD can cause your central vision to blur. AMD doesn’t lead to complete blindness, but losing your central vision can make it difficult to see faces, read, drive, or do close-up work. While AMD can’t be cured, there are treatments available that can help slow its progression. You can also take steps to reduce your risk of developing AMD in the first place. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss for older adults in the United States

Types of AMD

There are two types of AMD: dry and wet. The vast majority of people with AMD have the dry form, which is characterized by a thinning of the macula as you age. Dry AMD usually progresses slowly over several years. There is no treatment for late-stage dry AMD. You can find ways to make the most of your remaining vision. If you only have AMD in one eye, there are steps you can take to protect your vision in the other eye.

Wet AMD is a more severe form of the disease that can lead to rapid vision loss if left untreated. Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessels growing under the retina and leaking fluid or blood into the surrounding tissue.

Symptoms

According to the National Eye Institute, the symptoms of AMD depend on the stage.

Dry AMD happens in three stages: early, intermediate, and late.

-Early dry AMD doesn’t cause any symptoms.

-In intermediate dry AMD, some people still have no symptoms. Others may notice mild symptoms, like mild blurriness in their central vision or trouble seeing in low lighting.

-In late-stage (wet or dry), many people notice that straight lines start to look wavy or crooked. You may also notice a blurry area near the center of your vision.

Treatments

There is no cure for AMD but there are treatments available that can help slow its progression. Treatment options include prescription medications, vitamins and supplements, and laser surgery. If you’re worried that you may have AMD, it’s important to see an eye doctor for a diagnosis – early detection and treatment is key in preserving your vision.

How can we diagnose AMD?

We invested in Maculogix’ Adapt DX Pro to test patients for Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). With 20 years of clinical research behind it, this non-invasive device is one of the most accurate tools to detect early signs of AMD. It automatically aligns with the eye to capture an accurate measurement of dark adaptation speed. Dark adaptation is the automatic adjustment of the eye from bright light to low light, involving reflex dilation of the pupil. Dark adaptation speed is a key metric to diagnose early signs of AMD because the healthy eye adapts relatively quickly from bright light to darkness while the process can be very slow in the eyes with AMD.

Routine tests with Maculogix’ Adapt DX take about 5 min (compared to around an hour or more with other devices).

Now is the time to learn more about glaucoma and how it can affect your vision. Although glaucoma is not as well known as other eye diseases, such as cataracts or macular degeneration, it still affects millions of people in the United States and causes irreversible blindness. If you want to know what glaucoma does and how you can protect your eyes from this disease, keep reading!

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve. This can lead to vision loss and blindness, although there are often no symptoms until it’s too late. Once glaucoma damages the optic nerve, it can’t be repaired. This is why regular eye exams are so important! If glaucoma has already damaged part of your optic nerves, you might not notice any changes in vision until a lot of damage has been done.

The National Eye Institute projects that by 2030, more than four million people in the United States will have glaucoma. That’s almost a 33% increase from today!

Who is more at risk?

Glaucoma is called the sneak thief of sight since it damages vision without warning. There are glaucoma risk factors, though. One glaucoma risk factor is family history, especially in people who have had glaucoma previously or glaucoma at an early age. People with diabetes are also at higher risk for developing glaucoma than those who don’t have diabetes.

Glaucoma is more common in African Americans and Latinos than Caucasians. In fact, glaucoma is six to eight times more common in African Americans than Caucasians. If you’re part of one of these populations, it’s important to be especially vigilant about getting screened for glaucoma on a regular basis.

How do you know if you have glaucoma?

In many cases, there aren’t any symptoms to watch out for until a lot of damage has already been done and your eyesight starts getting worse without explanation so regular screening by an eye doctor is important!

Advanced signs of glaucoma can include:

• Cloudy, yellow vision. This is because glaucoma damages the optic nerve and causes it to swell up. Sometimes people with glaucoma describe this as a cloud or fog that blocks their vision even though they have perfect eyesight.
• Peripheral vision (the area outside the center of sight) begins to blur over time, making straight lines look wavy – especially when both eyes are affected by glaucoma.
• Pain in the eye or in the head
• Seeing halos around lights at night or bright colors like blue as grey.
• If you are experiencing the above symptoms, contact your optometrist immediately.

What can be done to prevent Glaucoma?

• Get regular eye exams to catch glaucoma before it catches you.
• Talk to your eye doctor if you are taking steroid medication. Long-term use of steroids is likely to raise eye pressure and can lead to glaucoma.
• Exercise regularly.
• Protect your eyes from injury and sunlight.
• Monitor your gums. Researches show a link between gum diseases and glaucoma.

Research shows that an annual, routine eye exam could prevent 95% of vision loss caused by diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Eyepic Eye Care is reiterating the importance of eye exams during the month of November, which is observed as Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month.

What is the leading cause of blindness in the United States?

Diabetes is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States among adults aged 20 to 74 and is the fifth most common cause of preventable blindness globally. Among the 30 million Americans with diabetes, about one-third have diabetic retinopathy, the potentially blinding complication of diabetes.

People typically don’t notice changes in their vision in the disease’s early stages. But as it progresses, diabetic retinopathy usually causes vision loss that in many cases cannot be reversed. That’s why it’s so important that everyone with diabetes has yearly exams for early detection. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consistently reports that less than two-thirds of people with diabetes undergo their recommended annual dilated ophthalmic examination. These rates are even lower among children and adolescents with diabetes, with less than half of youth with type 2 diabetes receiving an examination within six years of diagnosis.

Am I at risk for diabetes?

Many people live with prediabetes and diabetes without knowing it. That is because early symptoms can be easy to miss and is why Eyepic Eyecare is stressing the importance of an annual comprehensive eye exam. An annual comprehensive eye exam is critical for the prevention and early detection of eye complications related to diabetes. Take the risk test, which is a 60-second Type 2 Diabetes Risk Test, provided by the American Diabetes Association.

What are some of the warning signs of diabetic eye disease?

Some diabetic eye diseases have no signs or symptoms until they are too obvious to ignore, which might present as:

• Blurred vision
• Dark spots or “holes”
• Flashes of light
• Seeing an increased amount of floaters
• Poor night vision

How can I learn more about Diabetic Eye Disease and the diabetes community?

The following video features some of the American Diabetes Association’s healthy vision ambassadors, also known as “champions”. Patricia shares her story of diabetic vision loss, Natalie shares her story of living with diabetic retinopathy, and Roger shares his story of living with Type 2 diabetes. In these stories, you can learn more as these people share their experiences and the risk of diabetes-related eye disease directly from the leading voices in the field.

“We all live busy lives. When patients with diabetes are told nothing is wrong during their first eye exams, are asymptomatic, and have difficulty taking time off work, it’s easy to see how coming in for yet another health appointment might be deprioritized if the risks aren’t communicated to the patient,” said Ravi Parikh, MD, MPH, the study’s senior author. “The health care system as it stands today is not equipped to handle missed exams effectively. Maintaining follow-up exams also is a real problem.”

To schedule your routine eye exam, give us a call or request an appointment at the Eyepic Eyecare location nearest you.

Students face special challenges to the eyes when they are under academic performance pressure. Lack of sleep, prolonged computer use, and long hours of studying make for tired eyes that are dry, scratchy, and achy. Because of this, Eyepic Eye Care has eye health tips from an actual eye doctor.

Prolonged computer use contributes to eye fatigue because you blink less frequently. Less blinking significantly reduces lubrication in the eye making it feel tired, scratchy, and “dry” as a result. Also, eyes are not designed for prolonged focus on a single object, such as the computer. Remedy: place a note on the computer screen as a reminder to blink and look away from the screen and focus on objects in the distance.  Looking out a window (20 – 20 – 20 rule:  for every 20 minutes of computer work, look away for 20 seconds, and focus on a scene or object at least 20 feet away) is a good break for the eyes. The key is to give your eyes a rest.

“Dry eye” is a common feeling from not giving your eyes enough rest while some people just naturally do not produce enough tears to keep their eyes healthy and comfortable. Some common symptoms of dry eye are stinging and burning to the eyes, scratchiness, excessive eye irritation from smoke or wind, and excessive tearing. Remedy: If you have occasional symptoms of dry eye, you should try eye drops called artificial tears. These are similar to your own tears and help lubricate the eyes and maintain moisture. For persistent “dry eye,” see your eye doctor.

Contact Lenses and Sleep Deprivation 

When a contact-lens wearer stays awake studying for 18-20 hours or more with their contacts in, it’s almost the equivalent of sleeping with contacts in, something that your eye doctor warns against. Prolonged wearing of your contact lenses is a problem for people who wear regular hydrogen lenses since traditional hydrogels are relatively less permeable to oxygen than newer alternatives like silicone hydrogels. The eye needs oxygen to keep it healthy. Without regular exposure to oxygen, the eye’s cornea can become inflamed and the vision blurry. Prolonged contact lens use can even lead to infections or corneal ulcers that in the worst case can permanently damage vision. 

Sometimes students fall asleep without knowing it (with their contacts in) while studying. Remedy: Alternate wearing contact lenses with the use of eyeglasses during long study periods. Also, students with irregular sleep patterns can wear contact lenses made of silicon hydrogen, a new material with improved oxygen permeability, which may reduce the risk of infection and discomfort.