by Dan Roberts Updated September 2018 One of the most common problems encountered by people who are first diagnosed with macular degeneration is what to ask the doctor. The news usually takes us by surprise, and we may have never even heard of the disease before. To compound our confusion, many doctors do not have [Read More]
Category: Eye Conditions
Numbers of People with Macular Degeneration and Other Retinal Diseases
by Dan Roberts This information is for those who might like to know how much company we have out there. The information in this article was derived from a presentation scheduled for the 2002 ARVO convention, and it is the best estimation of numbers in the United States that I have seen so far. For [Read More]
Understanding Drug Side Effects and Adverse Events
Presented to the International Low Vision Support Group by Dan Roberts July 2013 [Opening: montage of screen shots and audio of disclaimers from drug commercials] Pretty scary, isn’t it? Kind of like telling us we’re going to feel better or die trying. These commercials, which show peaceful scenes of happy people while a disembodied voice [Read More]
Floaters and Flashers
Floaters Floaters are actually cellular debris within the vitreous, the jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of the eye. They may be seen as strings, streaks, clouds, bugs, dots, dust, or spider webs. These objects appear to be in front of the eye, but they are really floating in this fluid, and at the same [Read More]
How Many People are Legally Blind from Wet AMD?
by Dan Roberts April 2013 The latest report I have seen that provides anything close to an accurate estimate of legal blindness among people with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is Wilmer Eye Institute’s “Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States” by Congdon N, et al (Arch Ophthalmol. 2004 Apr;122(4):477-85). [Read More]