I have always been in pretty good health, so I was surprised one day when my doctor told me my blood pressure was a bit high. She told me to begin watching my salt intake, start exercising, and to try to relax. Well, I intended to follow her advice when I left her office, but the next day I was back to my same habits. I kept using the salt shaker and didn't begin an exercise routine like I had planned. When I went for my next check-up, she told me that my blood pressure was even higher and approaching a dangerous level. I had to begin a blood pressure medication to manage it. I wanted to create a blog to share my story and remind people to listen to their doctors' advice. If a few lifestyle changes can improve your health, then you should make them.
After struggling recently to see normally, you visited an ophthalmologist. An examination revealed your worst nightmare. You were diagnosed with dry macular degeneration. If this scenario sounds frightfully familiar, the following 3 treatment options may help.
Vitamins
Dry macular degeneration is caused from the weakening of the macula. The macula is situated directly in the middle of your retina. If you've been diagnosed with this serious eye disease, you might be experiencing several disturbing symptoms including:
Sadly, the devastating effects of dry macular degeneration can't be reversed. However, some treatment options can slow the progression of the disease while protecting your existing vision longer. One popular treatment alternative involves increasing the consumption of certain vitamins.
The National Eye Institute, NEI, recommends that patients suffering from dry macular degeneration increase their daily dosage of:
If you currently smoke or have even smoked in the past, your eye doctor may not advise you to take vitamin A supplements due to an increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer.
Olives
Surprisingly, many people's favorite pizza topping is believed to slow down the progression of dry macular degeneration. Olives are a good source of the important antioxidant hydroxytyrosol. Research has shown that this antioxidant, more commonly referred to as HTS, can actually protect the cells in your retina.
If you suffer from dry macular degeneration, consider increasing your consumption of olives by:
While consuming olives is believed to have a positive effect on dry macular degeneration, you will probably need to combine this treatment with other methods. One would need to intake the equivalent of 50 olives every day in order to get the recommended amount of eye protecting HTS. While you may adore olives, you probably don't wish to buy them by the truckload.
Surgery
If consuming vitamins and olives doesn't improve your case of dry macular degeneration, Implantable Miniature Telescope, IMT, surgery might be a viable treatment option. During the procedure, a surgeon takes out the lens of your eye and inserts a telescope in its place. The telescope causes your eye to distinguish light 3 times larger than it really is.
As light is increased, objects will appear larger to you. The surgery does not fix existing damage to your macula. It merely helps you utilize the healthy regions of your retina more. To be eligible for this innovative procedure, you need to:
As a result of implanting the telescope in a person's eye, patients who undergo this surgery lose their peripheral vision. Due to this loss, you can only undergo IMT surgery on one of your eyes.
After receiving a diagnosis of dry macular degeneration, you might be saddened about the possibility of eventually losing your sight altogether. While the ravaging effects of this eye condition can't be reversed, the aforementioned 3 treatment options might improve your long-term prognosis. To learn more about the benefits of these alternatives, contact your trusted ophthalmologist at a site like http://www.drgrantmdretinalspecialist.com today.
Share20 January 2015
