Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

One in seven people over 50 will get Macular Degeneration

Northern Advocate
5 May, 2018 02:24 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

MD is the leading cause of severe vision loss. One in seven people over the age of 50 years is affected in some way and the incidence increases with age. One in four people over the age of 80 have some vision loss.

What is Macular Degeneration (MD)?

The macula is the central part of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The retina processes all visual images. It is responsible for your ability to read, recognise faces, drive and see colours clearly. You are reading this using your macula. Macular Degeneration (MD) causes progressive loss of central vision but peripheral vision is not affected.

What are the types of MD?

There are two types of MD - dry and wet. Dry MD results in a gradual loss of central vision. Wet MD is characterised by a sudden loss of vision caused by abnormal blood vessels growing under the retina. Immediate medical treatment of wet MD is essential if symptoms occur.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

What are the risk factors?

Aside from increasing age over 50 years, MD is thought to be caused by genetic and environmental factors.

If you smoke or have a family history of MD, your risk of developing the disease is much greater.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Other risk factors include diet and lifestyle.

How can you tell if you have MD?

Symptoms may include one or more of the following:

Distortion, where straight lines appear wavy or bent

Difficulty reading or other activities that require fine vision

Distinguishing faces becomes a problem

Dark patches or empty spaces appear in the centre of
your vision

Poor night vision

Decreased colour sensitivity

Macular Degeneration Eye health checklist

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Have your eyes tested and make sure the macula is checked

Don't smoke

Keep a healthy lifestyle, control your weight and exercise regularly

Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Limit your intake of fats, eat fish two or three times a week, eat dark green leafy vegetables and fresh fruit daily and a handful of nuts a week

Provide adequate protection for your eyes from sunlight exposure, especially when young

Amsler grid

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Amsler grid may be used to detect distortion in vision where straight lines appear wavy or bent and to see if there
are dark spaces or empty patches in the vision.

Go to http://mdnz.org.nz for an amsler grid and further information on Macula Degeneration.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Autistic man indecently assaulted by rapist who had served 33 years behind bars

12 Jul 03:00 AM
Northern Advocate

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Northern Advocate

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

11 Jul 06:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Autistic man indecently assaulted by rapist who had served 33 years behind bars

Autistic man indecently assaulted by rapist who had served 33 years behind bars

12 Jul 03:00 AM

Mark Williams wore a balaclava and entered the man's home in December 2023.

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

'Massive milestone': Rare native geckos, parrots return amid pest-control success

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

Joe Bennett: A journey through Cyprus and its vanished pygmy hippos

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP