Dr. Reckell describes the causes of macular degeneration and explains how women can avoid this condition.
Dr. Reckell:
Both of these eyes have a reddish grayish area here called the macula. The macula is the bull’s eye of our vision, the most sensitive part of the eye. If you are going to thread a needle or focus, look somebody in the eye, that light is focusing right onto your macula, that center. It’s a red concentrated area.
Now when I look over here in this eye, this blotchy area shows damage to the macula. It should have been more red and concentrated. Macula degeneration is something that can occur with age. It’s something that tends to be hereditary. It can be developed due to poor nutrition, smoking will increase the risk of this, use of excessive alcohol will increase the risk of this, overexposure to the sun and also nutritional deficiencies.
It’s real important that we get a daily source of fruits and vegetables because the fruits and vegetables, the vitamins, the minerals are very cleansing to the eye. They will keep the proper nutrition to the blood vessels, nerve tissue and cleanse the area.
When I am talking about nutrition, I am talking about vitamins A, E, and C that we get naturally from green, leafy vegetables – fruits and vegetables. The antioxidants are cleansing and do get toxins out of our body.
We also want to get a source of minerals, specifically bilberry, lutein and zinc – those minerals we get in the berry family, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and they are also very cleansing to help keep this macula strong and to keep our blood vessel and nerves more clear and healthy.
About Dr. Susan Reckell, O.D.:
Dr. Susan L. Reckell graduated from Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris University in 1984. She holds optometry licenses in Arizona and Michigan. With more than 23 year of experience, she currently works as an optometrist at Riviera Opticare Inc.
Visit Dr. Reckell at Riviera Opticare Inc.