WHAT IS YELLOW SPOT DISEASE (MACULA DEGENERATION)?
WHAT IS YELLOW SPOT DISEASE (MACULA DEGENERATION)?
The human body is in perfect balance. This balance can sometimes deteriorate depending on age, sometimes as a result of trauma or accidents, and can change the comfort of life of the person. The loss of vision is a very uncomfortable situation for the person. A very detailed system operates behind the act of ‘seeing’.
The basis of macular degeneration is based on the gradual loss of vision. In the retina of the eye, the receptor cells that enable clear vision, distinguishing different objects, and comfortable reading begin to be lost gradually. With this loss, the person first begins to experience a loss of vision in the center, and the field of vision continues to be lost in a circular manner over time. This disease experienced in the macula region of the eye is called yellow spot disease. This condition usually occurs at an older age. There is also a version called Stargardt disease that occurs in children and teenagers.
The disease is divided into two sub-branches as Dry macular degeneration and Wet macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration is observed in 90% of the patients, which is a type that occurs due to aging. Wet macular degeneration occurs as a result of the differentiation of the vessels in the eye. In this type of the disease, vision loss is much more serious. Discrimination plays an important role in the treatment of the disease.
It has been found that the incidence is higher in people with a family history of similar diseases, older people, smokers, women, and people with systemic diseases such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease. The disease does not cause complete blindness, but people have difficulty sewing, driving, and walking comfortably on the street over time.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE DISEASE?
Unfortunately, this disease is noticed by patients when it is quite advanced, which directly affects the treatment process. It is possible to list the symptoms as follows:
Difficulty in distinguishing the face of people and the color of objects,
begin to see blurred; however, this alone is not a symptom.
Difficulty seeing at night
When focusing on a single point, symptoms such as loss of vision seen in the center can be the harbinger of this disease.
It is very important to evaluate the symptoms as a whole, so it is necessary to consult with a specialist physician without wasting time.
TREATMENT OF THE YELLOW SPOT DISEASE:
It is important to diagnose the disease and distinguish it from similar diseases. For this reason, it should be examined by a doctor who is a specialist in this field. In addition to the eye examination under the light, some special tests are performed to provide a full diagnosis of the disease.
There is no fully curative or reversible treatment for the disease. However, there are some methods that will increase the patient’s reduced life comfort and slow down the progression of the disease. The treatment plan is formed according to the 3 known subtypes of the disease.
Lenses that enlarge the field of view are placed in patients with dry macular degeneration. Since the veins in the eye are the main source of the problem in patients with wet macular degeneration, these veins should be healed first. This is possible with externally given intraocular drugs or laser.
