Macular Degeneration Treatment

The center of the retina is called macula. It is the layer of tissue present on the inside back wall of the eye. Sometimes, the macula gets deteriorated. It mostly happens in old age. The chronic condition of deteriorated tissues in the part of the eye responsible for central vision is known as macular degeneration. It does not cause complete blindness. But it surely affects the quality of life of the patient as it leads to blurring or presence of a blind spot in the central vision. This is the most important macular degeneration symptom. You need to have a clear vision for reading, recognizing faces, driving and doing pieces of works which needs detail. You tend to be at a higher risk of developing macular degeneration when you are more than 50 years of age.

Macular Degeneration Types

There are basically two types of macular degeneration. They are dry and wet. The dry macular degeneration is the more common among the two types. It involves breakage or thinning of the retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) present in the macula. RPE cells are sensitive to light and contains numerous photoreceptors. The death of these cells is medically termed as atrophy. This is why dry macular degeneration is also known as atrophic macular degeneration. It is symptomized by thinning of the macula and the presence of dots of yellow crystalline deposits which develop within the macula. This particular form may not only affect your central vision but also color perception.

Wet macular degeneration is more serious form of this disease. In this type, the membrane underneath the retina thickens, and then breaks. There is disruption in the oxygen supply to the macula. Your body responds to this by growing new but abnormal blood vessels. They begin to grow through the breaks of the membrane behind the retina towards the macula. It often results in the rise in the level of retina. Such a damage to the macula results in rapid loss of central vision. When this vision is destroyed, it is impossible to restore it.

Macular Degeneration Diagnosis

An ophthalmologist may perform a certain set of examinations to determine whether you are suffering from macular degeneration or not. He will use some eye drops to enlarge your pupils. He will then use a special lens to see your optic nerve and retina. He will also look for any change in the blood vessels and the membrane which surrounds them. The ophthalmologist may ask you to cover one eye and look at a pattern of lines called an Amsler grid. In case you find the straight lines to be wavy, you may be suffering from macular degeneration. The doctor may make use of some other diagnostic tests of macular degeneration. They include fluorescein angiogram and optical coherence tomography.

Treatment for Macular Degeneration

There is no dry macular degeneration treatment available. It progresses slowly. However, you may live a relatively normal life with it, particularly if your vision has been affected only minimally. The medical professionals often prescribe high doses of macular degeneration vitamins and minerals to slow down the progression of this disease. The macular degeneration vitamins include vitamin A, C and E, and minerals are copper and zinc.

There are a number of wet macular degeneration treatment options. These has been discussed below.

Injectable Drug Treatment: The injectable drug treatment directly targets the growth of blood vessels in the macula. The ophthalomologist will numb your eyes with an anesthetic. This medicine will stop the blood vessels from growing, bleeding and leaking. You will be given such a macular degeneration injection every 4-6 weeks. This is done to prevent the blood vessels from further affecting the vision. There are some side effects of this particular treatment option. They are redness and scratchiness in the eyeball.

Photodynamic Therapy: The photodynamic therapy involves administration of a drug injected into the bloodstream. The drug concentrates in the abnormal blood vessels beneath the macula. The ophthalmologist then focuses cold-laser light at the macula. This activates the drug and results in the closing of abnormal blood vessels. This all happens without the damaging of macula. Photodynamic therapy is commonly performed as a combination therapy with other options of macular hole treatment.

Photocoagulation: Photocoagulation is also known as laser surgery. It uses a high-energy laser beam to create small burns in parts of the retina which have abnormal blood vessels. It is considered as an option for cure when the abnormal blood vessels are still outside the area of the central vision. The doctor decides if it should be used or not on the basis of the location and appearance of the blood vessels, amount of leakage and the general health of the macula. The photocoagulation may also destroy some surrounding healthy tissues of the eye, hence the vision.

Submacular Hemorrhage Displacement Surgery: Doctors use this particular macular degeneration procedure in rare circumstances. Your ophthalmologist may perform it on you if you have experienced loss of vision which is associated with blood under the macula, and you still have healthy tissue around the macula. The doctor often conducts vitrectomy surgery in conjunction with injections to dissolve the clot and displace the hemorrhage. When the hemorrhage moves away from the central vision, the blood vessels underlying the macula break and cause bleeding.

By going through the present article, you came to learn about the types, diagnosis and treatment options for macular degeneration. Since vitamins and minerals can decelerate the progression of macular degeneration, you should make it a point that you follow a healthy diet for your entire life. This will surely aid in macular degeneration prevention.