The life of my mother with AMD

Age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD, is a common eye disease that happens among people over 50 and would lead to the loss of vision. To raise the attention to the disease and the vision loss issues, February has been defined as AMD and Vision Loss Awareness Month. Recently, Zoomax received feedback from a user, telling about his mother’s story with age-related macular degeneration, which shall bring huge inspiration to everyone with AMD.

macular degeneration

About AMD

AMD mainly influences a small area of the retina, which is also called the macula. When the cells in the macula are damaged, a series of macular degeneration symptoms will follow. In the beginning, people may find it hard to see the text clearly, and the situation won’t be improved even with the glasses. Then it’s getting blurred in the central area of the vision, and the straight lines seem to become curved.

Read more details of AMD: What is Macular Degeneration AMD?

Age-related macular degeneration is not horrible but a common eye disorder. The AMD and Low Vision Awareness Month promotes the awareness of macular degeneration treatment and prevention, and calls on citizens to pay more attention to vision loss issues. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), AMD is the leading reason that causes the loss of eyesight among the elderly. Thus, understanding this disease and keeping an eye on the low vision community is what we are inspired to do this month. In the following chapter, a user of Zoomax shares his mother’s story with AMD, helping us know more about how this disease affects the life and what we can do to live with AMD.

vision with amd

E-glasses changes the life of my mother with AMD

My mother turns 72 years old this year, and she got dry AMD two years ago. My mom lives in the countryside alone. She won’t always feel lonely because she enjoys TV shows, cooking, and walking. TV shows enrich her life, she loves to cook and she often shares delicious food with her neighbors, and outdoor walking helps her maintain a good quality of sleep. However, she was found to have AMD years ago. The main manifestation of her disease is the central vision loss in her right eye. Meanwhile, her overall eyesight becomes blurred.

madam with amd enjoys cookingThe vision loss wuth AMD brings unthinkable inconveniences. Although my mom basically still can live independently, she cannot enjoy her hobbies anymore, which makes her become lonely, frustrated, and even irritable. I once suggested that she could come to live with me and my wife in the city, or I could hire a caregiver to take care of her. She angrily rejected my advice and thought I was despising her. Of course I didn’t have that kind of thoughts, and I knew she just didn’t want to leave the hometown, so I had to give up persuasion.

I asked my friends for help, as I wanted to know if there is any good vision aids for the seniors with macular degeneration like my Mom to confront the vision loss issues. One of my friends recommended me a visually impaired aid, the Zoomax Acesight. He said the functions and the flexibility of the E-glasses for the low vision are just suitable for the situations like my mother’s. She can regain the joys of TV shows, cooking and walking with the help of Acesight. 

acesight e glasses

At first, I didn’t expect a lot that this wearable digital magnifier could cope with my mother’s low vision situation. I chose to try Acesight only because I heard from my friend that they offer good after-sale service. The fact turns out that Acesight E-glasses performs better than I imagined. We know that the product cannot cure the disease, but we are still grateful to Acesight. It relieves a lot of burdens in my mother’s life, and the most important thing is that Acesight helps my mother regain her confidence, which is more than anything else.

How to Prevent AMD

The lady’s story addressed the negative impacts of macular degeneration (AMD) on the lives, at the same time, demonstrated the disease is hard to treat but there are still measures to promote the quality of life. Furthermore, in line with the theme of AMD and Vision Loss Awareness Month, developing a healthy lifestyle is also essential to prevent age-related eye diseases like AMD.

Eat Healthily

eat healthily to prevent amdA common method that we’ve been mentioning several times is to eat healthily, which brings overall benefits for the seniors. The key principle is to take fresh fruits and especially leafy green vegetables, in order to get enough nutrition that the body needs. Recent research has shown that leafy green vegetables are beneficial for preventing many diseases, the trace elements in the vegetables help our cells and organs function well. Plus, it’s worth mentioning that eating fish on a regular basis is important due to the omega-3 fatty acids it contains.

Proper Exercise

proper exercise to prevent amdAs AMD poor vision makes the life more difficult than usual, cultivating regular exercises could be the corresponding way to prevent the disease and promote the perception of the body in some ways. People who are accustomed to exercising are usually at a low risk of having diseases. It doesn’t have to worry if you don’t have any fitness habits before. There are many gentle and easy physical movements for the beginners when you start exercising. You can have the reference in the article: New Year, Let Us Keep Healthy - Exercises for the Low Vision.

Wear Sunglasses

wearing sunglasses to prevent amdIn the article, What is Macular Degeneration AMD?, pointed out that excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays is one of the causes of macular degeneration. The UV light in sunlight causes potential damage to the eyes and increases the risk of AMD. Therefore, wearing a pair of sunglasses while you staying in the sun is good protection for our eyes.

Quit Smoking

quit smoking to prevent amdYou may hear a lot of news about how smoking is harmful to our bodies. Usually the hazard indicates the damages to the lungs. The World Health Organization (WHO) also emphasized the negative impacts of smoking on people’s lungs. Moreover, to speak of the harm to the eyes, smoking causes not only the internal dangers to the eye organs but also the external damage due to the smoke, such as dry eye syndrome. Quit smoking is necessary as it threats both the body and eye health.

People who have low vision with macular degeneration account for a large amount of the low vision population. Many seniors’ life is influenced by the disease. So people found solutions to improve the quality of their life. Among the many options, using the visually impaired aid is definitely the best one. The advancement of technology always should intend to improve the life. Meanwhile, the organization of Prevent Blindness also expressed that people who have the loss of vision with AMD could also be independent with the assistance of low vision aids, like the madam in the above-mentioned story. Caring for the people with AMD around us, not only in February but also every day.

To learn more about macular degeneration (AMD), Please read : 

https://www.zoomax.com/low-vision-information/5-things-people-with-amd-should-know/ 

https://www.zoomax.com/low-vision-information/facts-you-should-know-about-age-related-macular-degeneration-amd/

References:

February is AMD Macular Degeneration Low vision Awareness Month

Prevent Blindness Declares February as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month

AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration)

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

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