EYE HEALTH

The macula is the area at the back of the eye that is responsible for our detailed, colour and daylight vision. It contains millions of cells and requires a large amount of nutrients to function, plus a system to break up and dispose of the waste products.

When these cells cease to function, and/or the waste products they produce aren’t properly removed (due to the underlying pigment layer becoming depleted), then slowly but surely we lose our detailed vision. It has a variety of causes but when associated with age it is referred to as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Types of macular degeneration include:

• Dry – the most common type, caused by gradual onset and usually due to 'wear and tear'

• Wet – new vessels grow behind the retina causing swelling, bleeding and scar tissue, this type of deterioration develops quickly and accounts for 10% of all AMD

Wet macular degeneration usually involves both eyes but not equally, so often people will have one good eye. Using the eyes will not increase the risk of damage so if you enjoy hobbies such as reading or knitting etc. – carry on! It doesn’t cause total blindness but it is the greatest cause of poor sight in the over 60s.

Symptoms include blurred vision, distortion, straight lines appear wavy, patterns or shapes are sometimes seen that are not really there, and reading becomes more difficult.

• Age - Those of us over 50 are more at risk

• Gender – Women are more at risk, probably because they live longer!

• Family history - If it is in the family, there is a 50% chance of developing it as opposed to 12% if there is no family history

• Smoking – Doubles your chance of developing AMD

• Sunlight - UV significantly increases the risk so wear sunglasses

• Nutrition – evidence suggests that a well-balanced diet or taking supplements can help delay the onset of AMD

Dry AMD

With our new MPod machine, we can now measure the macula pigment. Evidence suggests that by taking Macushield supplements, the macula pigment layer can increase in density and may help slow down or stabilise the effects of AMD. We usually recommend taking supplements for six months and repeating the MPod measurement to determine whether there is an increase in pigment.

Diet can help improve the essential intake of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and minerals, zinc and selenium, plus enzymes lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin. Oily fish, dark green veg (especially kale), red and yellow peppers, and apricots will make great additions to your diet. Also, if you smoke, you should stop!

Wet AMD

Treatment involves a referral to your local eye casualty for flourescein angiography tests, which use special photographs to give a better assessment of the condition. Treatment (if possible) involves injections into the eye to seal the leaking vessels and hopefully stabilise or improve the condition.

Contact us immediately if you have any of the symptoms listed above and we will check your vision, and if necessary dilate the pupils and examine the macula. Depending on the findings, we will either refer you to the eye casualty if it is wet AMD and if it is treatable; or if is it dry AMD, then we will try to improve the vision through spectacles, measure your macular pigment and give advice on diet and supplements.