Importance of Yellow Dot Disease
Macular disease causes damage to the retina and the layers under the retina. Subsequently, vision loss occurs. For this reason What Precautions Should Be Taken Against Macular Diseases This topic is very important because of the incidence of severe vision loss.
What is the Importance of Yellow Dot Disease?
Macular disease ranks almost first among the types of diseases that cause vision loss in people over the age of 50. Yellow spot disease damages color vision and sensitive visual fields by affecting the center of the visual fields, i.e. the middle. As a result of these damages, patients become unable to perform their daily vital activities on their own. In other words, they become dependent on others by living a limited life.
What Precautions Should Be Taken Against Macular Diseases?
Another issue to be addressed before answering the question of what precautions should be taken against macular diseases is the clinical studies. In clinical studies, the most important feature of the disease is that it is a very rapidly progressive lesion. If macular involvement is detected in the early stages of the disease, vision can be preserved at the current rate and greater vision loss can be prevented. The progression of loss can even be slowed down. In addition, this disease can affect both eyes simultaneously in some cases and at different times in others.
Environmental and especially genetic factors play an important role in the development of yellow spot disease. The incidence of this disease is high in people with a family history and close relatives with macular disease, as well as in overweight obese patients and those with high cholesterol levels. Hypertensive patients, people with cardiovascular disease, smokers and those who are exposed to too much sunlight are also in this risk group. For this reason, the risk group should pay attention to all the details under the question What Precautions Should Be Taken Against Macular Diseases?
Symptoms of Macular Disease
The disease affects the central part of the retina. For this reason, the first symptoms that develop due to the involvement include complaints such as blurred vision and curvature of straight lines. Later, with the progression of the disease, patients see a dark spot in the center of the focal point during vision. If macular involvement occurs in both eyes at the same time, central vision problems become a major complaint. These complaints help to reveal the disease. In monocular macular involvement, most of the patients realize the vision problem late.
Precautions Against Macular Disease (Amsler Grid Test)
There are a number of methods that patients in the high risk group for macular disease can apply for early diagnosis of problems in central visual functions. In particular, there is a screening test that helps early detection of macular disease and can be easily applied by each individual at home. This screening test called "Amsler Grid Test" is a gridded paper. With this test, all findings related to macular diseases can be easily detected at an early stage.
Using this paper test, called the Amsler grid test, each patient can take precautions against the disease by testing their own eyes. During this test, patients wear reading glasses if they wear glasses and look at the test paper with sufficient light. At a 30 cm reading distance, one eye must first be closed. Then the other eye is closed and the test is performed. This procedure should be performed separately for both eyes for early detection of the signs of the disease.
Check that each corner of the square in the test is clearly visible. The eyes should then focus on the central point in the middle of the amsler grid test. During this focusing, attention should be paid to how the other lines are seen. When looking at the focal point at the center of the square, all lines and all squares should be of equal size. However, if all corners are not clearly visible during this test, or if there is any dispersion or refraction of the lines, deformations, blurring, color pallor or any other problem with vision in any area of the test paper, a physician should be consulted.
What should we do to avoid yellow spot?
A healthy diet can help slow the progression of yellow spot disease. Smoking can lead to the progression of yellow spot disease. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of developing yellow spot disease. UV rays can affect your eyes and cause the progression of yellow spot disease. You can protect your eyes by wearing sunglasses with UV protection.
