Macular Degeneration Treatment

In order to understand how to treat macular degeneration you have to understand what the disease is. The term encompasses both Wet and Dry forums of a degenerative eye disorder. Wet macular degeneration is the less common, though the more destructive and damaging forum of the two. Macular degeneration occurs when the macula, a part of the eye located in the retina becomes to be damaged and causes a loss of central vision. In dry macular degeneration cellular debris known as drusen accumulate and cause the problem. In wet macular degeneration it is the formation of blood vessels during a process called angiogenesis which cause pressure on the macula and are the concern.The macula is important, more than one might think, due to it is direct responsible for your central vision. As central vision is responsible for maintaining a quality of life, any negative deterioration in it is severe and will greatly hinder ones life. The causes are thought to be genetic, lifestyle, which includes drinking and smoking, and eye color and skin color, as both light eye color and fair skinned persons are more likely to develop the condition. Age is of course a significant factor as most of those suffering with the disease are in the 50 plus age group. The treatment for ry macular degeneration currently consists of high doses of particular nutrients such as lutein and zeaxanthin which are believed to slow the development of the disease. There is currently no surgical treatment. The treatment for wet macular degeneration is more broad. In addition to supplementing with the nutrients which also help the dry form, there are surgical alternatives and pharmaceutical methods also. Surgery involves using lasers to pinpoint the unwanted blood vessels and destroying them. However, this method has drawbacks and many patients are not approved for this in any event. Another consideration is that once the vessels are destroyed, the vision in that section will not return, and the area is permanently scarred. The pharmaceutical method involves injecting chemicals which act as anti-angieoness. This method looks to prevent the abnormal blood vessels from growing and do so in a way that causes no harm to the eye.It is important to realize that one should take precautions before hand if there is a family history of the disease or if there are risk factors. macular degeneration treatment can be benefited by taking supplemental nutrients such as lutein will help protect the macula. Beta-carotene, while important for the eye, has little impact on the macula. Making sure that ones diet is low in fat is also important as the disease is higher in those who eat diets high in fat. Another factor is light. Not the traditional ultraviolet light that is a concern, though that should also be taken into consideration as it is bad for the eye.