Out of all the debilitating diseases that can cause vision loss, Macular Degeneration is the worst one. It affects a lot of people all over the world. In the US it affects more people than Glaucoma and Cataract combined. However, this is not even the most alarming part. What is even more alarming is the fact that we still don’t fully understand the disease or any of its causes. This makes diagnosis of Macular Degeneration a very hard thing, that is why most of the times it is diagnosed too late.
Macular Degeneration is of two main types – Wet Macular Degeneration and dry Macular Degeneration. Most cases in the world are reported to be that of dry Macular Degeneration and all cases of dry Macular Degeneration start out as wet Macular Degeneration only. Macular Degeneration mostly affects people over the age of 50 and it is usually diagnosed in its later stages.
Macular Degeneration symptoms are quite few and far in between. The disease takes a long time to manifest within a person and therefore it becomes difficult to take note of any of the Macular Degeneration symptoms. However, with regular checkups you may or may not notice something depending upon the stage of the disease. There are three main manifestation stages for Macular Degeneration. They are Early AMD (Age related Macular Degeneration), Intermediate AMD and Late AMD. In the early stage it is very difficult to diagnose Macular Degeneration as there are no visible symptoms except for a yellow deposit bellow the retina. That is why it is imperative that we have regular eye checkups. In the intermediate stage, there are no noticeable symptoms. The only way to detect Macular Degeneration at this stage is through an eye check up. In the third and final stage, vision loss is a reality and your vision will be impaired either by blurriness or by a big black spot right at the center of your field of vision.
Many people take undue tension when it comes to treating their Macular Degeneration. A few decades ago this might have been a correct and relevant way of behaving as there were no treatments during that time. However, now there are a few supplements in the market which help in the treatment of the disease. These supplements need to be taken in the exact amount and at the exact time in a regular fashion. Skipping on your medication will probably aggravate your AMD.
Macular Degeneration has been tormenting humanity in the later ages since a long time. Thanks to technological and medical advancement, we finally have something that resembles a solution. Scientists are working hard to have a permanent solution to the adversity that is Macular Degeneration in the near future.
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