Vitamins for macular degeneration
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am turning to you for help. My mother tells me that her eye doctor says she has macular degeneration. Already she’s preparing to live in a nursing home, since she says she faces blindness. Yesterday she was driving a car, keeping house for herself and had an active social life. I can’t believe this change could happen in one day. Does it? — L.M.
ANSWER: The more-common kind of macular degeneration, the dry kind, doesn’t usually lead to such profound loss of vision in one day. I believe your mother is drawing some premature conclusions about what she faces.
The macula is a small area on the retina, the back part of the eye that turns incoming light signals into electrical signals that are sent to the brain to allow us to see. The macula is about the size of a newsprint capital O. Small as that retinal area is, it carries on one of the biggest vision jobs. It’s responsible for clear central vision, the kind needed to read, to watch TV, to recognize faces and to drive.
Age is one important factor in developing macular degeneration. The condition is formally called age-related macular degeneration. Genes have a role. So does cigarette smoking.
Wet macular degeneration comes about from the sudden sprouting of fragile blood vessels in the macular area. Those vessels leak fluid, which interferes with macular function. This kind of macular degeneration can progress rapidly. There are more ways of handling it than there are of handling the dry variety.
Slow your mother down. She is acting far too prematurely. Her vision might never progress to the point where she has to give up driving and is dependent on others. A combination of high doses of vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene (a vitamin A relative), zinc and copper can slow the progress of dry macular degeneration. People shouldn’t treat themselves with this vitamin mixture. Their doctors will tell them when it is appropriate. Currently, more studies are ongoing to determine the place of folic acid, vitamins B-6 and B-12, lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of this common eye condition.
The booklet on macular degeneration answers questions on it in greater detail. To order a copy, write: Dr. Donohue — No. 701, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What is dementia? How does it differ from Alzheimer’s disease? — I.W.
ANSWER: “Dementia” is an all-inclusive word, like “flowers.” It encompasses all the illnesses that feature a decline in mental functions — loss of memory, the inability to perform simple arithmetic like balancing a checkbook, misunderstanding commonly used words, exhibiting inappropriate judgment (wearing a winter coat in the middle of summer) and the loss of basic skills such as dressing and grooming. Alzheimer’s disease is one kind of dementia. So are many small strokes, and conditions with names like Lewy body disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Roses, petunias, tulips are all flowers. The illnesses I mentioned, along with many others, are all examples of dementia. Each has some distinctive features.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am 11 years old. I put on a little bit of eyeshadow the other day. When I washed it off, my eyelids felt like I had a brush burn. They hurt all day. I took a shower, and they felt better. Two weeks later, I put eyeshadow on again. When I washed it off, my eyelids felt fine. Do you think my eyelids are too sensitive for the makeup? — J.W.
ANSWER: I think eyeshadow is too irritating for your eyelids. Perhaps they’ve gotten used to it. In my opinion, you’re perfectly lovely just the way you are. You don’t need any makeup.
Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.