We help you understand this condition through a discussion of its possible cause and risk factors below.

Detecting Age- Related Macular Degeneration
Typically, age- related macular degeneration is a slow and painless loss of sight. Vision loss could be sudden in rare cases. One of the early signs of vision loss include an unusually fuzzy vision or the presence of shadowy spots in your central vision. A retinal exam coupled with fluorescein angiography will help specifically identify central vision defects.

What Causes Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
Apart from aging, researchers have also found out that those who develop macular degeneration have deficiency in a certain gene called the complement Factor H. Setting age and genetics aside, the following factors are associated with AMD:

Lack of Physical Activity
A study published in Archives of Ophthalmology revealed that overweight patients who already exhibited early signs of AMD doubled their risk of developing it to advanced stages of AMD. The same study also found out that patients who consistently perform vigorous exercises greatly reduced the risk of developing advanced AMD in comparison to the inactive subjects.

Smoking
A British study found out that smoking is associated with roughly 25 percent of AMD cases which resulted to severe loss of eyesight. Also, another study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reported a positive correlation between living with a smoker and the likelihood of developing AMD.

Hypertension
High blood pressure is strongly associated with AMD and a European study linking the two is published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science.

Lighter Eye Color
Since AMD has been recorded to be more prevalent amongst Caucasians, it has been theorized that a more darker shade of eyes produces a protective pigmenta against the occurrence of AMD. There is no conclusive evidence to this theory for now though.

Medication Side Effects
Certain drugs are found out to aggravate symptoms of AMD like phenothiazine (antipsychotic drug) and Aralen (anti-malarial drug).

Currently, there is no known cure for macular degeneration. Smoking and aging are the two risk factors which is consistently found out to contribute to its occurrence.

Fillmore Eye Clinic offers a variety of quality ophthalmological services, ranging from surgery to vision therapies for age-related macular degeneration. Call us today for a personal consultation at 1-800-323-4764 or fill out this contact form. We look forward to your visit!