February 2017 is AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) and Low Vision Awareness month per Prevent Blindness.org. I encourage you to take a moment and revisit these pervasive eye health issues.

We’ve all heard the statistics. The leading cause of vision loss for Americans over the age of 50 is macular degeneration. According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, over 10 million Americans have AMD; that is equivalent to 2% of our population. And as the population is aging, so is the incidence of macular degeneration, which has almost doubled over the past decade.

As you may know, macular degeneration affects the macula or central part of the retina where our sharpest vision is located. There are two forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), wet and dry, with the dry version being most common. Although there is significant ongoing research searching for AMD cures and treatments; no effective treatments are available. Research, such as the ARED 2 Study (see this weeks article by Linda Hardy), has shown that dietary supplements and vitamins may slow the progressive of dry AMD.

There is an apparent and unfortunate tie between macular degeneration and low vision, as AMD is one of the many conditions that inevitably lead to low vision. AMD rarely causes complete vision loss, but rather a loss of central vision. Peripheral vision most often is unaffected.

Low vision is an area where ECPs can play a role in assisting patients to manage with the use of specialty lenses and low vision aids such as magnifiers.

Step up and play an active role as part of your patient’s eye health care team.