Macular Degeneration Aids
Macular degeneration is a devastating disorder that an estimated 12 million Americans suffer from. If you suffer from this disorder, you know that it is very difficult to see properly and that your vision is only getting worse. Finding ways to help you see are very important and essential for you to get through your day to day lifestyle. This is why if you suffer from macular degeneration, you need some macular degeneration aids.
Before we get into macular degeneration aids, you must first understand what macular degeneration is and why you may need these aids. Macular degeneration is the end result or several different disorders. The macula (the light sensing cells located at the central region of the retina) malfunctions and begins to die off. This leads to a gradual loss and decline of central vision. However, peripheral vision remains intact.
There are two types of macular degeneration, wet and dry. Dry macular degeneration occurs in about 90 percent of the cases and it is less severe that wet macular degeneration. However, dry macular degeneration can turn into wet macular degeneration.
Since macular degeneration affects your vision, you need macular degeneration aids that help you see. The first things people always need are that of special glasses. But there are other devices that can aid in your vision as well. An example is magnifiers that enlarge print to make it easier for you to read. These magnifiers include spectacles, telescopes, and hand or stand-alone magnifying glasses. You can also get a closed circuit television. All of these can be prescribed by your ophthalmologist.
There are many other macular degeneration aids available as well. These include watches and timers with larger easy to read numbers. There are also special lamps that provide bright illumination for reading and close work. Books, newspapers and periodicals are available in large print as well. There are even attachments for telephones in large-print type or telephones that are made with large printed buttons. You can even find talking calculators and books.
Lastly, another macular degeneration aid would be to use a seeing eye dog. Seeing eye dogs would only be available to those of you with severe vision loss. There is often quite a long waiting list in order to get one as well. If you feel you may need one, you need to discuss it with your ophthalmologist and doctor.
Macular degeneration is truly a devastating disorder to have. But with the help of several macular degeneration aids, you can get through the day a bit easier. There are a lot of options out there and many devices are available to aid anyone with this terrible vision impairment.
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