Jacques was a really lively retiree. It ended one November morning when his life suddenly turned the other way up. When he woke up that day, he couldn't see with one eye. Panicked, he immediately got here to satisfy me.
Jacques was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) a number of years ago. His condition was stable, but now it suddenly reached essentially the most severe type of the disease,Wet degradation“This stage is characterised by the sudden growth of a network of recent blood vessels that penetrate the deeper layers of the retina, causing a rapid lack of functional vision within the affected eye.
Urgent referral to an ophthalmologist is required in such cases because the window of opportunity for treatment is narrow. Prompt treatment normally results. Excellent assessment. Jack managed to get treatment inside a number of days.
The ophthalmologist gave it to him. Intraocular injection of medication, but it surely improved his vision barely. Jax was depressed and his anxiety was increasing. He felt useless and had lost a whole lot of autonomy.
Eye loss is a traumatic event whatever the patient's age. While significant negative psychological effects are well documented. Older patientsrecent publications also report similar negative results. Young population.
For example, the speed of depression is six times higher in individuals with significant vision loss than in the overall population (25 percent versus four percent).
Patient expectations
So what can we do to assist Jack? We cannot promise that his vision might be fully restored. Although injection therapy could also be effective, the underlying degeneration won't go away. The best choice for Jacques is to refer him to a vision rehabilitation center where he'll receive support from various professionals.
At the middle, he might be seen by specialists trained to treat vision impairment and its impact on the lives of those affected and people around them. Understanding this fact is step one toward helping patients meet their needs.
After providing psychological support to Jack, the subsequent step is to enhance his visual condition. Optometrists who concentrate on low vision may prescribe optical aids to assist Jacques regain a few of his visual function, including magnifiers, vision aids, and special glasses through a government program designed for this purpose. may be provided through
Visual Impairment Rehabilitation (VIR) specialists are trained on the School of Optometry on the University of Montreal (the one institution in Canada that provides a master's program at VIR), after which Jaques is in a position to perform his day by day activities. Strategies will help learning. Educators will help him use computers and specific software. When needed, orientation and mobility specialists teach individuals with visual impairments find out how to safely orient themselves, whether on the road or in unfamiliar surroundings.
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A social employee, aware that the results of visual impairment are far greater than the person experiencing it, will accompany Jack and communicate together with his family through the rehabilitation process. In short, Jack could have a great support system and can give you the chance to regain a certain level of autonomy in his life, which, in turn, could have a positive effect on his morale. Support groups might also aid him in his efforts and if, due to effective injections, his visual acuity improves, he might be in a win-win situation.
However, Jax still has other concerns about his illness. He worries that his children will develop similar conditions, especially one among his sons.
Several risk aspects
Age-related macular degeneration is aptly named: its prevalence increases as patients age. About one million Canadians – 300,000 in Quebec alone – are affected by AMD. of them, 10 to 15 percent are wet form.Like Jacques. AMD is the leading reason for blindness in people over the age of 65.
In addition to aging, other risk aspects related to the event of the disease include family history, ethnic origin (whites are more affected), gender (women are more affected), atherosclerotic and vascular diseases, obesity and sun exposure (phototoxicity). ) Included. retinal cells).
Smoking also plays a crucial role. Smoking 25 cigarettes per day Doubles the chance of severe damage. Exposure to secondhand smoke can be harmful. Chemicals absorbed during smoke exposure Increases the absorption of harmful sunlight by the retina 1,000 times..
For Jax's son, the specter of AMD's development is evident but so are the choices. He won't give you the chance to alter his genes, prevent himself from aging or change his race or chromosomes. However, he can control modifiable aspects: he can quit smoking, control his weight and stay physically lively.
Diet can play a preventive role. Reducing the quantity of fat within the food regimen and ensuring adequate omega-3 consumption (triglyceride forms, 800 mg DHA/EPA day by day) are important. However, in Jax's case it shouldn't be really useful so as to add vitamins formulated for eye health to the combo. Vitamins are only effective in treating the intermediate stages of dry AMD, not stopping it. However, these are one among the few ways Jack can reduce the chance of his other eye being affected and losing all of his functional vision.
Both Jacques and his son must follow doctor's recommendations for managing vascular problems (hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes). When poorly controlled, these conditions significantly increase the chance of developing wet AMD.
Remember, macular degeneration is initially a vascular disease: the blood vessels are not any longer in a position to nourish the retinal cells and might not efficiently remove their metabolic wastes. As a result, the cells die. New blood vessels form, but they're fragile and once they break, they fill the retina with fluid.
Finally, each father and son might want to protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays, either with a transparent filter (UV400) of their regular prescription glasses or by wearing good quality sunglasses once they are outside. Their eye care skilled will give you the chance to advise them on this.
Jax shouldn't be in high spirits, but I even have given him some hope that higher days are ahead. He knows that he can depend on a team of execs to assist him and that he cannot cope together with his condition alone. Expected. And hope is the very first thing that makes it possible to beat the results of any disease.