Seeing  Clearly

You can call Betty White by many recognizable names— Sue Ann Nivens, Rose Nyland, animal activist and now, leading advocate for senior eye health. Betty has become the spokesperson for “My Eye Health: In the Wink of an Eye,”  a national campaign to educate Americans, in particular older ones, about age-related macular degeneration, also called AMD, and the importance of early detection and treatment. AMD is the leading cause of blindness in Americans over age 60.

About 15 million Americans — almost one in four over the age of 50 -- have AMD which may severely impact the ability to read, watch TV, drive or even recognize faces of family and friends.  Editor-In-Chief Gary Barg sits down for an in-depth conversation with this legendary actress and dedicated advocate and Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, Chairman of The University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.

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GARY BARG: A very important issue that caregivers are dealing with is age-related macular degeneration as it is the leading cause of blindness in people over 60.  Can you tell me what it is exactly?

DR. PULIAFITO: Macular degeneration is a major public health issue for us now with so many seniors that are out there.  There are two forms of macular degeneration – the dry form and the more serious wet form of AMD.  What happens is the central part of your vision can be affected, the part of vision that you use to read, to recognize faces, to drive a car. And if you have the symptoms of blurry vision or wavy vision and you’re a senior, it may not be a cataract, it may not be glaucoma, it may be new wet AMD. You need to see your ophthalmologist because we have some great new treatments for wet AMD that can preserve or even improve your vision. It’s also very important to have a routine eye examination to know that you have the early signs of AMD and Betty will tell you about the great way to screen yourself.

BETTY WHITE: We’re having a whole campaign – a “My Eye Health Campaign”— for that very reason because so many don’t know what age-related macular degeneration is. They know about glaucoma, they know about other problems, but this is a mystery to them and we’re trying to spread the word that it’s something that’s the leading cause of blindness in people over 65.

GB:  How would someone know for sure if they have AMD?

BETTY: You need to have an eye examination by your ophthalmologist to know for sure, but there’s a way you can even check yourself at home, which is a marvelous idea and it’s so important. A short time ago there was no such thing as any treatment; you just were stuck with it.

Now that you can do something, you want to find out as soon as you can. This is called an Amsler Grid.    It’s a little square with evenly spaced vertical and horizontal lines and a dot in the middle. All you do is just tape it to the wall, stand about a foot away and put on your reading glasses if you wear them, and cover one eye and concentrate on the dot. Now if these lines become blurry or wavy or if there are any blind spots, that’s the red flag that says go see your eye doctor immediately.

GB: Is My Eye Health distributing the Amsler Grid as part of the campaign?

BETTY: Yes; you can get your own Amsler Grid simply by going to the website www.preventblindness.org. It’s a good idea to do it because one out of every four people has a beginning problem with that.

GB: Dr. Puliafito, how common is AMD?

DR: Well, we think there are about two million Americans that have the wet form of macular degeneration, but as Betty said, almost 25% of seniors will have some form of macular degeneration so it’s a common problem.

GB: What would you say to caregivers concerning their own or their loved one’s eye health?

BETTY: We should all monitor our vision and encourage our friends, family and peers to do the same.  AMD is devastating to those who have it and the thought of someone losing their vision is too much to bear. When I learned that vision may be preserved when wet AMD is caught and treated early, I wanted to spread the word to as many people as possible.

GB:  Are they any new treatments for AMD?

DR: One of the new treatments that are available is called Macugen and it’s the first in a whole new kind of drug that specifically blocks the protein in the back of the eye that’s causing these abnormal blood vessels.  The treatment is very effective, it’s safe.  It’s administered in the doctor’s office and it’s something that all seniors really need to know about.

 

 

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