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How to Cope with Progressive Eye Disease

Contributor
By Maria Scinto
eHow Contributing Writer
(0 Ratings)

Over 5 million Americans suffer from some form of degenerative eye disease which causes them to have trouble with their vision. Eye diseases are particularly common among people aged 60 and older, and can seriously impact the quality of life for the elderly and for other sufferers if they are left untreated. Among these degenerative eye diseases, some of the most common are glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy.

From Quick Guide: Cope With Disease
Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • Prescription eyedrops (as needed)
  • Amsler grid
  • Sunglasses
  • Fruits and vegetables
  1. Step 1

    See your doctor for a prescription for special eyedrops that can help to stop or slow down the degeneration of the optic nerve. If these drops are not enough to cure the loss of peripheral vision that occurs with glaucoma, you may need to undergo surgery to relieve the pressure within your eye and preserve your eyesight.

  2. Step 2

    Check your vision daily with a tool called an Amsler Grid if you think you may be suffering from the loss of sharpness of vision that occurs with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). If your vision degenerates to a certain point, your condition may change from what is called dry AMD to wet AMD, when abnormal blood vessels grow and leak blood and fluid into your eyes. Wet AMD is responsible for nearly all of the severe vision loss associated with age-related macular degeneration, but there are now several injectable medications that can help to dry up these blood vessels.

  3. Step 3

    Wear high-quality sunglasses capable of blocking 100% of all harmful UVA and UVB rays in order to protect yourself against the blurred vision and discoloration of images that results when you develop cataracts. If you do develop them, however, you can undergo a treatment called phacoemulsification, in which your eye doctor will break up and then remove the cataract.

  4. Step 4

    Control your weight, blood sugar and blood pressure if you are diabetic to lessen your risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. If you do start to suffer from the blurred vision and vision loss that characterize this disease, you may need to have laser surgery to treat the complications so that the disease does not progress to the point where you lose your sight entirely.

Tips & Warnings
  • A diet rich in fruits and leafy green vegetables is recommended for all-around eye health, and may help to prevent the vision problems that can result from a Vitamin A deficiency.
  • The laser surgery that may be performed on the peripheral retina to treat complications from diabetic retinopathy may result in night blindness.
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