Can I Prevent Wet AMD?
There's a lot you can do to lower your risk of developing wet age-related macular degeneration.
Frank Siringo, M.D., O.D., chief of vitreoretinal diseases and surgery at Omni Eye Specialists in Denver, explains how to help prevent wet AMD.
If you have dry AMD, there are a number of lifestyle changes you can make to lower the risk that you'll go on to the advanced vision-threatening type of wet macular degeneration. The first of which is don't smoke. Smoking is the number-one risk factor for conversion to wet AMD. Controlling your blood pressure is also really important.
Dry AMD patients should also discuss diet and supplements with their doctor. There are very good studies to suggest that a Mediterranean diet, which essentially translates to a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, with two or more servings of fish per week, and a minimum amount of the heavily processed meats like bacon, ham, and sausage, also lowers the risk by about a third of going on to the wet kind of AMD.
There is also very good data based upon what's called the Age-related Eye Disease Study or AREDS. Some AREDS supplements are available over the counter or on the shelf. The AREDS 2 supplement formulas use the most up to date data, and they can lower a patient's risk of converting from the dry to wet form of AMD also by about a third.
