What is macular degeneration in medical terms?
Macular degeneration, or age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 and older. It is a disease that destroys your sharp, central vision. You need central vision to see objects clearly and to do tasks such as reading and driving.
What is macular degeneration for kids?
Juvenile macular degeneration (JMD) is the term for several inherited and rare diseases that affect children and young adults. They include Stargardt’s disease, Best disease, and juvenile retinoschisis. They can cause central vision loss that often starts in childhood or young adulthood.
What is macular degeneration and how is it caused?
Cones are responsible for color vision, and rods enable you to see shades of gray. No one knows exactly what causes dry macular degeneration. But research indicates it may be affected by a combination of heredity and environmental factors, including smoking, obesity and diet. The condition develops as the eye ages.
What does macular mean?
Macular: Pertaining to the macula. A macula is a small spot. A macula on the skin is a small flat spot while the macula in the eye is a small spot where vision is keenest in the retina. The macula of the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue lining the interior of he back of the eye, is also known as the macula.
How do you explain macular degeneration?
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease that may get worse over time. It’s the leading cause of severe, permanent vision loss in people over age 60. It happens when the small central portion of your retina, called the macula, wears down.
What is the main cause of macular degeneration?
Wet macular degeneration is a chronic eye disorder that causes blurred vision or a blind spot in your visual field. It’s generally caused by abnormal blood vessels that leak fluid or blood into the macula (MAK-u-luh). The macula is in the part of the retina responsible for central vision.
What causes macular degeneration in children?
1: Juvenile macular degeneration is a genetic disorder passed from parent to child that affects adolescents and young adults in their 20s and 30s. There are different genes that pass these disorders from one generation to another.
What does the macular do?
The macula is located near the center of the retina; its function is to process harp, clear, straight-ahead vision. The retina is the paper-thin tissue that lines the back of the eye and contains the photoreceptor (light sensing) cells (rods and cones) that send visual signals to the brain.
How does macular degeneration occur?
Macular Degeneration is caused by the deterioration of the central portion of the retina, the inside back layer of the eye that records the images we see and sends them via the optic nerve from the eye to the brain.
How can you prevent macular degeneration?
Tips for Protecting Eye Health and Preventing Macular Degeneration
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Eat a nutritious diet that includes green leafy vegetables, yellow and orange fruit, fish and whole grains.
- Don’t smoke.
- Maintain normal blood pressure and control other medical conditions.
- Exercise regularly.
Is macular degeneration genetic or environmental?
AMD, a heterogeneous and genetically complex disease, is triggered by multiple environmental and genetic risk factors. Epidemiological studies provided solid evidence that environmental factors including BMI (body mass index) and smoking increased risks of AMD.
Can a 14 year old have macular degeneration?
Age-related macular degeneration affects older adults, while juvenile macular degeneration affects children, teens, and young adults. The most common types of juvenile macular degeneration are Stargardt disease, Best’s disease, and juvenile retinoschisis.
What is macular degeneration and can you prevent it?
Macular degeneration is a common age-related eye condition that can reduce your central vision . If you have macular degeneration, you may have difficulty focusing on an object and might even lose your vision.
What you should know about macular degeneration?
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss . It’s also called age-related macular degeneration. Your macula is part of your retina — the area in the back of your eye that turns images into signals that go to your brain. It lets you see small details clearly.
What are the risk factors for macular degeneration?
Talk to your eye doctor about your individual risk. Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and being light skinned, female, and having a light eye color are also risk factors for macular degeneration.
What do you need to know about macular degeneration?
Age-related macular degen- eration (AMD) is a chronic, progressive eye disease that causes loss of central vision. It affects the macula, the part of the eye that allows you to see fine detail. AMD can affect one or both eyes. It causes no pain, and it usually does not lead to total blindness. Some peripheral (side) vision usually remains.
