Special glasses and macular degeneration (AMD – age-related macular degeneration)
Special macular degeneration glasses are intended to provide relief by correcting the axial deviation, optimizing the visual field and improving visual acuity and contrast perception.
They have been recommended by opticians and also by health insurance companies for several years. But what are such glasses really good for? Find out here.
The conditions for the use of glasses in macular degeneration (AMD)
Wet and dry macular degeneration or age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the main cause of blindness in old age in Germany. More or less large areas of the retina of the eye are damaged.
Restrictions of the field of vision occur. Certain image contents are no longer visible, straight lines appear curved or bent to the affected person.
Unfortunately, the treatment options are limited; both drug and surgical treatments have not yet brought the hoped-for breakthrough.
Macular degeneration glasses – real help or fallacy?
At first, the theoretical approaches seem conclusive and comprehensible to the patient. The eye with its receptors of the retina serves to receive light and to transmit the information to the brain. However, the actual seeing takes place in the brain.
A slight deviation in the axis of the eyes means that images received by the eyes can no longer be sent to the brain congruently. This leads to an extra load on the brain to still combine the two images into one.
With macular degeneration glasses the brain should be supported and relieved in its work in case of macular degeneration in the dry and wet form. It should be possible for the brain to achieve a better regulation of the eye.
A regeneration of the eyes, which are in a way a part of the brain, is also the goal of such efforts.
Redirection of image stimuli through the glasses
In macular degeneration, more or less large regions of the retina are destroyed so that they can no longer transmit light stimuli to the nervous system. Therefore the idea came up to redirect the received image by means of macular degeneration glasses to the still intact areas of the macula.
The lenses of such glasses are provided with a prism cut. In addition, they have a contrast-enhancing coating.
The promises of the manufacturers of macular degeneration glasses are high
In addition to optimizing the field of vision, these glasses are also supposed to lead to improved visual acuity and contrast perception. The regulatory mechanisms of the eye are relieved. The result is a regeneration of the eyes, which in turn should prevent the progression of macular degeneration.
The glasses for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in reality
So much for the theory. Glasses with the mentioned properties would be a real blessing for patients with macular degeneration. In practice, the effect of these glasses is rather sobering.
Macular degeneration, both in the wet and dry form, is finally not an optical problem. From a physiological point of view, there is a circulatory and metabolic disorder of the macula.
Therefore it seems impossible to try to regulate the metabolism of the body by putting on glasses.
Can the macular degeneration glasses regulate the metabolism?
As a logical consequence, arteriosclerosis and other circulatory disorders of the tissues should be positively influenced by these macular degeneration glasses. Such a healing promising mechanism can and will unfortunately not work.
On the other hand, there are areas of application in which prism glasses are definitely a supplementary help in addition to a suitable therapy. One example is dyslexia (reading and spelling disability).
However, this is a disorder that is related to image processing in the brain and makes reading difficult, i.e. a visual problem.
Conclusion: Macular degeneration glasses – does it fit together?
- In case of macular degeneration wearing glasses can definitely help you to cope better with everyday life. They can facilitate the orientation and influence the quality of life favorably – unfortunately not more.
- Glasses can only correct optically. But the wet and dry macular degeneration is a circulatory and metabolic disorder of the eye.
- And: Of course, such glasses also have their price – whether financed by the health insurance or privately.