OasisEye Specialists

Elderly Face Risk of Irreversible Blindness

With ageing comes many issues that we may be unprepared to face, but loss of sight can be devastating.
Malaysia is expected to become an ageing nation by 2035, with 15 per cent of its population aged 65 and above.
While ideally, the elderly should remain active well into their golden years, it’s estimated that 46,000 Malaysians above the age of 45 are at risk of irreversible blindness due to wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). While vision changes will naturally occur as a person ages, actual vision loss is not a normal part of ageing.

Wet AMD, a progressive and chronic type of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), occurs when abnormal blood vessels beneath the retina start to grow under the macular. Symptoms usually appear suddenly, causing distortions and blurred vision, and worsen rapidly, leading to irreversible damage within a short period of time.While wet AMD only accounts for about 10 per cent of all AMD cases, it is responsible for 90 per cent of severe vision loss associated with the disease.

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Elderly Face Risk of Irreversible Blindness