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February is Low Vision and Age-Related Macular Degeneration Awareness Month

The Ensight Skills Center is a 501-C3 not-for-profit organization that provides visual rehabilitation. We are the only fully comprehensive Low Vision services in Colorado. The low vision community depends Ensight programs to help them regain and preserve independence and quality of life Ensight is always accepting donations. If you are interested in donating money or your time, please call.

Ensight Skills Center serves anyone having difficulty with activities of daily living related to vision loss. Vision loss has many causes. Some of the most common causes of vision loss are degenerative eye diseases like macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. In most cases, there are no medical treatments that will bring vision back. This is when visual rehabilitation services can help optimize the use of remaining vision through training and adaptive aids.

It is the mission of the Ensight Skills Center to provide clients with low vision the opportunity to enhance their life skills, independence and self-confidence in a safe environment thought adaptive technology and training.

Many of our clients and individuals we see on a daily bases are suffering from Macular Degeneration. Knowing the signs, symptoms, and issues of Macular Degeneration may help you or someone you love. One of the most important things to remember is that any change in vision should be checked out by your primary eye doctor as soon as possible. Macular Degeneration as well as other eye diseases should be addressed as early as possible for the most signficant chance of slowing vision loss. Also, a great new app I found for the smart phone is called Vision Sim. This app shows you what someone who is suffering from Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma, Diabetic Retinopathy, or Cataracts might see. It’s a great free learning tool for friends and family members that can’t seem to understand what is going on with their loved ones vision.

The following information is from the National Eye Institute website http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts.asp

Who is at risk for AMD?
The greatest risk factor is age. Although AMD may occur during middle age, studies show that people over age 60 are clearly at greater risk than other age groups. For instance, a large study found that people in middle-age have about a 2 percent risk of getting AMD, but this risk increased to nearly 30 percent in those over age 75.

Other risk factors include:

■Smoking. Smoking may increase the risk of AMD.
■Obesity. Research studies suggest a link between obesity and the progression of early and intermediate stage AMD to advanced AMD.
■Race. Whites are much more likely to lose vision from AMD than African Americans.
■Family history. Those with immediate family members who have AMD are at a higher risk of developing the disease.
■Gender. Women appear to be at greater risk than men.
Can my lifestyle make a difference?
Your lifestyle can play a role in reducing your risk of developing AMD.

■Eat a healthy diet high in green leafy vegetables and fish.
■Don’t smoke.
■Maintain normal blood pressure.
■Watch your weight.
■Exercise.

Symptoms and Detection
What are the symptoms?
Both dry and wet AMD cause no pain.

For dry AMD: the most common early sign is blurred vision. As fewer cells in the macula are able to function, people will see details less clearly in front of them, such as faces or words in a book. Often this blurred vision will go away in brighter light. If the loss of these light-sensing cells becomes great, people may see a small–but growing–blind spot in the middle of their field of vision.

For wet AMD: the classic early symptom is that straight lines appear crooked. This results when fluid from the leaking blood vessels gathers and lifts the macula, distorting vision. A small blind spot may also appear in wet AMD, resulting in loss of one’s central vision.

How is AMD detected?
Your eye care professional may suspect AMD if you are over age 60 and have had recent changes in your central vision. To look for signs of the disease, he or she will use eye drops to dilate, or enlarge, your pupils. Dilating the pupils allows your eye care professional to view the back of the eye better.

AMD is detected during a comprehensive eye exam that includes:

1.Visual acuity test. This eye chart test measures how well you see at various distances.
2.Dilated eye exam. Drops are placed in your eyes to widen, or dilate, the pupils. Your eye care professional uses a special magnifying lens to examine your retina and optic nerve for signs of AMD and other eye problems. After the exam, your close-up vision may remain blurred for several hours.
3.Tonometry. An instrument measures the pressure inside the eye. Numbing drops may be applied to your eye for this test.
Your eye care professional also may do other tests to learn more about the structure and health of your eye.

During an eye exam, you may be asked to look at an Amsler grid. The pattern of the grid resembles a checkerboard. You will cover one eye and stare at a black dot in the center of the grid. While staring at the dot, you may notice that the straight lines in the pattern appear wavy. You may notice that some of the lines are missing. These may be signs of AMD.

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Percent of Americans Age 45+ With a Self-Reported Vision Problem by Age

LOW VISION FACTS Low Vision is currently the 3rd leading cause of disability in people 65 years and older.Worldwide Estimates according to Lighthouse International Low Vision Statisitcs:Over 161 million people in the world are visually impaired, of whom 37 million are blind and 124 million have low vision. It is predicted that without extra interventions, these numbers will rise to 75 million blind and 200 million visually impaired by the year 2020 (WHO, 2003).
Among persons who are blind worldwide:58% are age 60+32% are ages 45-597% are ages 15-44 4% are age 14 or under (Thylefors, et al., 1995).The number of people with partial sight today — 135 million — is expected to double by the year 2020 (Vision 2020, 2000).

Low Vision Products for sale in our online store

Ensight has many optical and non-optical low vision aids. See Ensight’s Products page for more information. These aids are prescribed by a low vision trained Optometrist. Ensight’s Optometrist focuses on evaluating a patient’s remaining vision and determining which optical low vision aides will help the most.

Occupational Therapists will perform an evaluation of the effects of vision loss and the ability to complete daily activities followed by training on the proper use of the optical and non-optical aids. Training will focuses on learning to use light and magnification, to help with reading, cooking, medication management, financial management, home mobility and safety. Basic training can be done at Ensight, but training is also done in the patient’s own home or workplace.

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