你知道湿amd的早期迹象吗？

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One day in2015年,莉斯俄文ndzieher stopped at her refrigerator and looked at the Amsler grid hanging there to test her vision—something she did often. But this time, instead of seeing the grid’s straight lines, running up and down in the shape of a square with a small circle in the middle, she saw something new. Something different.

She covered her right eye. The lines were straight. She covered her left eye. The lines were wavy. Rundzieher, 74, of Houston, knew what she had to do. “I didn’t wait. I called[眼科医生]that day to make an appointment. And the minute I said to the appointment service what that was happening, they were very good about getting me an appointment quickly,” she says.

Rundzieher had been diagnosed with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) several years earlier in both eyes, and knew this visual change was a possible symptom of progression to the next—and last—stage of the ocular disease, called wet AMD. Her doctor confirmed her suspicion, and Rundzieher was diagnosed with wet AMD in her right eye at that visit six years ago; she’s been receiving anti-VEGF treatment ever since.

Her story illustrates how knowing the signs and symptoms of this serious condition—as well as seeing your eye doctor regularly to monitor for any unseen changes and then sticking to your treatment plan once diagnosed—might just save your central vision.

The timing of detecting AMD progression is key to how well therapy might work to not only stop central vision loss, but also possibly restore lost vision, says Carl C. Awh, M.D., president of the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and a retina specialist at Tennessee Retina in Nashville. The first-line treatment for wet AMD, anti-VEGF injections have shown in clinical trials to stabilize vision in more than 90% of patients, with a third of patients gaining vision. “The better the vision when we begin treatment, the better the vision the patient will end up with,” he explains.

那么你应该在寻找什么？

威胁波浪线

这是AMD的棘手的事情。你可能没有anysigns or symptoms that you’ve progressed from dry to wet. “Sometimes quite honestly, they’re missed,” says Sophie J. Bakri, M.D., a retina specialist and chair of ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She explains that one eye can compensate for the other eye’s vision loss. It’s like our brain is telling us we’re seeing out of both eyes just fine, even though one isn’t seeing as well.

“One of the signs of converting from dry to wet is that straight lines appear wavy, and also may be missing parts,” Dr. Bakri says. “Within those straight lines[一个amsler网格]，就像一个纵横填写字拼图，具有多个缺失的斑点。所以，有些人注意到一般模糊，其他人通知失真。“

Simply, signs or symptoms of progression to wet AMD can include:

• Blurry vision

• 在你的中央愿景中缺少斑点

• 波浪线

• 扭曲的图像/线条

It’s important to note that only 10% to 15% of patients with dry AMD will progress to wet macular degeneration, Dr. Awh says, meaning that just because you have dry AMD doesn’t mean you’ll advance to wet. So what increases your odds?

Wet AMD Risk Factors

对于rundzieher来说，它看到波浪线，它向湿amd发出了进展。但她注意到他们的原因，甚至知道与一个Amsler网格定期检查她的愿景，是因为她知道她有风险的情况。具体而言，她的Dry AMD诊断和她的湿AMD的家族史有助于她迅速行动。

其他风险因素也可以发挥作用，如：

• Increased age

• Light iris color

• 白种人种族

• Female sex

• Genetics

• 吸烟历史

• 增加BMI.

• History of heavy drinking (four or more alcoholic drinks per day)

• 其他可能的风险因素包括高血压（高血压），过度的阳光照射，以及水果和蔬菜的饮食。

Rundzieher的遗传连接湿amd让她意识到她发展病情的风险。她看到它在她的家人里玩耍。她的妈妈是九个孩子之一，有湿amd。她的四个母亲的兄弟姐妹也有，也可能是她的曾祖母。由于她的所有亲属在2000年代初批准了抗VEGF治疗之前的眼部状况，她目睹了她的妈妈，叔叔和阿姨，直到他们失去了中央愿景。

“我可以记住他们设置他们的家庭，以便他们能够感受到他们的方式，并知道一切都在哪里，”Rundzieher说。“特别是有一只阿姨，当她试图辨别她正在看的脸时，我真的可以看到她的脸上。她可以看到他们脸的周边，但她看不到内部。她在她家里有自适应的东西来帮助扩大事情。她找出了保持联系的方式，并希望与世界保持联系。它害怕我想到我的那样。“

How to Catch Wet AMD Early

Rundzieher did everything right when she first saw those wavy lines, says her ophthalmologist, Christina Y. Weng, M.D., M.B.A., a retina specialist and associate professor of ophthalmology and fellowship program director of Vitreoretinal Surgery and Diseases at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “We very much wish all patients would be as sensitive and proactive about their care,” Dr. Weng says.

如果湿amd在您的家庭中运行，或者如果您已经干燥了AMD，并且担心您的视力更改，请按照以下步骤提前捕获湿疗法：

1. 有定期的眼科检查。Dr. Weng explains that your eye doctor has special tools to detect wet AMD earlier than you might be able to see it.

2. 自我监控愿景。虽然那些常规的眼科考试是一切，但如果你有干燥的AMD，你的眼科医生通常会看到你两次，所以你知道如何识别症状是重要的an Amsler grid监控每日更改。

3. 寻求专家。Seeing an eye doctor trained in retinal issues can also be helpful in making sure you’re properly diagnosed, treated, and monitored with wet AMD, Dr. Awh says. He recommends using the American Society of Retina Specialists’查找视网膜专业功能找到您附近的专家的功能。

Because Rundzieher caught her wet AMD early on and is consistent with her treatments and eye exams, she’s maintained her vision. She can watch TV, pay her family’s bills, and read for pleasure. As a retired teacher, she’s been able to support her 7-year-old granddaughter’s virtual learning through the pandemic. She needs glasses to help clarify things in her weakened right eye, submits to anti-VEGF injections every 10 weeks, and carefully monitors her left eye’s dry AMD, but she’s OK with that. Because she can see her granddaughter.

“有时如果我拿走我的眼镜，我试着看看我的孙女，这么多迷失在她脸上的中心。我试图想象如果我看不到那么长时间的睫毛，如果我看不到那些可爱的细节，我会非常想念那么多，“她说。“我知道眼镜有助于改变。我知道注射正在帮助我抓住自己的。所以这一切都放在一起以使它工作。我知道这是一个脆弱的事情。我知道对其他眼睛过渡没有预测性湿润。但我只是在感激之情。“

遇见我们的作家

erin l. boyle.

Healthcentral 2016-2018的高级编辑Erin L.Boyle是一位屡获殊荣的自由医疗作家和编辑，拥有超过15年的经验。十年来，她走过这个世界，将最新的医学研究带给医生。健康写作也是个性化的：她有几种自身免疫性疾病和偏头痛，她撰写了关于健康中央的健康。在Erinlynboyle.com了解更多关于她的信息。在Twitter上关注她@erinlboyle。

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