How to lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration
Eye doctor Carlsbad
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness. In people with this condition, aging causes damage to the macula, which is the area of the retina responsible for your central vision. This area is the only part of the retina that is capable of seeing details well, and allows you to read, recognize faces, and do other similar activities. When the macula degenerates, these activities become more difficult. People who have a family history of AMD are at a significantly greater risk for developing this condition, but it can happen to anyone.
Although there’s no guaranteed way to prevent AMD, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk. Here are a few different ways to help protect your vision.
Quit smoking
Smoking is the primary modifiable risk factor for AMD. Smokers have a risk of AMD that is two to four times greater than that of nonsmokers. This is for a few reasons. Chemicals in tobacco smoke change blood flow throughout the body. Because the retina requires a lot of energy, it is particularly sensitive to changes in blood flow. Smokers also experience cellular damage from chemicals known as free radicals, which are present in tobacco smoke. Free radicals can affect the delicate cells of the retina and lead to AMD. Quitting smoking will help to protect your vision, as well as many other aspects of your health.
Get exercise
Exercise improves blood flow throughout the body. It also helps you to control your weight and reduces the risk of high blood pressure. High blood pressure causes damage to the delicate blood vessels in the retina, so it’s important to keep your blood pressure under control in order to protect your vision. As an added bonus, exercise also reduces the risk of many other serious health conditions. You don’t have to start running marathons; just half an hour a day of walking will make a huge difference.
Eat leafy greens and other vegetables
Eating a healthy diet helps to ensure that your body has the vitamins and minerals that it needs to maintain and repair tissues. From a vision perspective, green leafy vegetables are particularly important. They contain a variety of vitamins and minerals that help to protect your vision, and also antioxidants that help to protect the cells in your retina from damage. Focus on including these in your diet every day. In addition to your leafy greens, try to eat a variety of other vegetables and fruits of as many different colors as possible, to get the greatest variety of nutrients.
Consider taking supplements
For people who have early AMD, a certain vitamin combination can help to reduce the risk of it progressing to more advanced stages. The vitamins are called AREDS, after the study that showed their benefits (the Age-Related Eye Disease Study). The AREDS vitamin combination has not been shown to protect people from developing AMD in the first place, but rather may help to prevent it from progressing to more advanced stages. If you have early AMD, you should bring up AREDS with your doctor to ensure that it would be safe for you to take. (Even vitamins do have risks for some people and can interact with certain medications.)
Wear sunglasses
Exposure to bright sunlight can slowly damage the cells of the eye over time, which can lead to eye diseases. Wearing sunglasses whenever you’re outside in the sun can help to prevent this damage. Make sure that your sunglasses are protective against UV (ultraviolet) rays; you should look for a sticker on the lens that says it’s 100% UV protective. Sunglasses that block visible light, but don’t block UV, will not protect your eyes from damage. Protection from the sun may reduce the risk of AMD as well as cataracts.
Eye doctor Carlsbad
If you have a family history of AMD or other eye diseases, it’s a good idea to visit your eye doctor at least once a year for an eye exam. This will allow subtle changes in your vision to be detected early, which can give you the chance to intervene and reduce the risk of progression. If you’re looking for an eye doctor Carlsbad and the surrounding area, we invite you to make an appointment at our office with one of our highly experienced doctors.
