February is Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month

February is “Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Month.” What is AMD? Most young people do not even know about AMD. When we are young we take our vision for granted and only focus on our need for fashionable glasses and extended wear contact lenses. And for people who have perfect vision, regular visits to the optometrist are rare. But as we age, we all start to realize our vision is changing. Between the ages of forty and fifty, we realize we need reading glasses. At age 50 and up we may find out we have a cataract. No one ever thinks they will have AMD. The team at New England Eye Center wants to remind everyone that AMD is the leading cause of blindness among older Americans. And when you lose your vision as you age, you can lose your independence. It’s very frightening to age and lose your vision. However new treatments have dramatically changed the course of this disease over the last 10 years, making AMD more manageable than ever before. We are reminding people with AMD that they can save their vision thanks to recent treatment advances, but early detection is a critical first step. If anyone you know suffers from ADM or if you simply want to learn more, visit http://www.neec.com/Pages/Services/Vitreoretinal/Age_Related_Macular_Degeneration.php

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