Macular Degeneration Essay

Glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness, is estimated to affect 1 of every 50 adults. Although glaucoma can occur at any age, the risk of developing the disease increases dramatically after the age of 35. Glaucoma is also more likely to develop in patients who are severely nearsighted, have a family history of the condition, diabetics and Black or African American. This disease often goes unnoticed until permanent vision loss has occurred. Visual damage from glaucoma can be prevented by early diagnosis and careful treatment. Glaucoma is related to elevated fluid pressure of the eye which is causing loss of side vision. It is a series of diseases which damage the optic nerve. Damage to the optic nerve and retina causes blind

An eye exam if you are having a serious vision problems, even if it turns out there is nothing wrong with your

Recently we posted about 20/20 vision and eye charts for eye examinations. Much of the time, the standard Snellen eye chart is used to measure visual acuity and help the doctor determine whether you need eyeglasses or contact lenses for improved vision.

The dry form is broken down into three stages; Early, Intermediate, and Advanced (National Eye Institute 3). In the Early stage, people have several small or few medium yellow deposits under the retina called drusen. This stage shows no symptoms or vision loss. During the second stage, Intermediate, more medium or even large deposits happen. As this happens, a blurred spot can develop and more light could be needed for reading. Lastly, in the Advanced stage, a breakdown of light-sensitive cells and tissue causes the blurred spot to enlarge and darken. In this latter stage, facial recognition is unlikely unless the person is extremely close. Either form of Macular Degeneration can only be detected by thorough eye exams. The exam should include visual acuity, which measures sight at varied distance intervals. Also, dilation of the eyes will allow an ophthalmologist to check the retina and optic nerve. An instrument called a Tonometer will measure pressure within the eyes (National Eye Institute 6).

The research topic I will be introducing is Age-Related Macular Degeneration. This has been classified as a degenerative disorder that distresses the macula in one’s eye. AMD is unfortunately a common illness that individuals over 65 suffer from and that is a central cause vision loss. AMD doesn’t have a set disease pathway, in some individuals it advances slowly so that loss of vision does not arise for a long time. The disease can also advance much quicker and may lead to lack of vision in either or both eyes. The disease begins a blurry area near the center of one’s vision which grows larger and larger possibly causing a blank space in the eye (Boyd, 2013). Research is being done on AMD because it is a prevalent illness and has extreme consequences.

Whether you’ve never worn glasses or contact lenses or are getting ready for your next trip to the eye doctor, you might be wondering how visual acuity is measured. What does it actually mean when vision is described as 20-20? As a leading Washington, MO, optical practice, the team at Comprehensive Eye Care, under the direction of Dr. Michael Korenfeld and Dr. Nathan Tuttle, field these types of questions all the time. Since part of their mission is to promote education about optometry and eye health, they’re happy to provide some answers.

As humans, we don't always see with our eyes, but often with our imagination (Grunwald, 2016). Often times as people we never realize how useful our vision really is to us. You really don't think about something like that until it would actual happen to you. Throughout this essay, you will learn how the body is affected by Macular Degeneration (MD). Different signs and symptoms, as well as the etiology of MD, will be discussed. In the following, diagnosis tests and treatments may also be listed in order to help others who would like to know more about MD. Not to mention, you will learn the incidence and progression of MD. Furthermore, information though agencies and associations, as well as new research about MD will be given.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a clinical condition in which there is a progressive decrease in central vision. There are two forms of macular degeneration, dry/nonexudative and wet/exudative, and these differ in fundal findings and treatment options. Dry macular degeneration is due to accumulation of drusen between the retinal pigment epithelium and Bruch’s membrane and eventually progresses to geographic atrophy. Geographic atrophy refers to loss of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and photoreceptors. Wet macular degeneration, comprising up to 80% of cases of macular degeneration, is due to neovascularization forming choroidal neovascular membranes, which are unstable vessels leading to an array of complications including

A dilated eye exam where drops are placed in your eyes to widen the pupils. Your eye doctor uses a magnifying lens to examine your retina and optic nerve for signs of damage and other eye problems. After the exam, your close-up vision may remain blurred for several hours.

In Eye Cancer states that most of the choroidal melanoma patients has no symptoms, the best way to detect this lesion early is to perform periodic evaluations of the retina under dilatation. Patients suffering from melanoma have blurry vision caused if the tumor is

This condition is usually diagnosed by a health care provider who specializes in eye diseases (ophthalmologist). The ophthalmologist will do a complete eye exam. You may have tests, such as:

     Macular Degeneration is a problem in the part of the eye that controls your sharpest central vision. It is a group of diseases that result in a loss of detailed vision. The brain will not just leave the spot empty, so it learns to fill it in with spotty macular cell damage. People most of the time don't tell their doctors (opthalmologists) about it until it is well in advance.

Glaucoma is a group of eye disorders that cause blindness by hurting the optic nerve, which is the large nerve that is responsible for vision. In glaucoma, the optic nerve damage is related to a change in the fluid pressure that circulates around the eyeball. In many cases, Glaucoma occurs when the eye's fluid pressure is high, but it can also occur when the pressure is measured as normal.

The process of the diagnostic starts off by placing a corneal electrode behind the lower eyelid, lightly touching the cornea, and neutral electrodes implanted on the skin around the eye. Then a light glisten in the eye and the ERG records electrical changes in the retina. Also, there’s an exam for the retina that involves an indirect ophthalmoscope, an instrument that enables the doctor to examine the different portions of the eye through the dilated pupil. Additionally, there’s exam like the visual acuity, refraction, color testing, and peripheral vision testing that take part of a complete eye examination in a patient whose suspected of having a retinal

Macular Degeneration is depreciation of the central portion of the retina, which records the images being sent by an eye and is located on the inside back layer of the eye. Retina sends images via the optic nerve from the eye to the brain. Macula is another name for retina’s central portion and is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye. This controls person’s capability to read, drive a ca, recognizes faces or colors. As per one of the article Macular degenerations have said to be the leading cause of vision loss, which affects more than 10 million Americans- more than cataracts and glaucoma. It is one of the incurable eye disease. Dry and wet are two types of Macular degeneration. It is being researched that 85% to 90% are dry cases and 10-15% are the wet cases of Macular degeneration. Age related Macular degeneration(AMD) consists of three stages. In early AMD stage one does not experience vision loss. In Intermediate AMD stage there is some vision loss, but no noticeable symptoms. Late AMD is more sever with vision loss being noticeable. According to one of the article Age related macular degeneration is a pathological change in the central portion of the retina. Early AMD, clinical signs of retinal disease are detected on routine examination, but