Low Vision Guide

Floaters are common as people get older, however if you have a lot of floaters or they are accompanied by light flashes you should see an eye doctor (opthamologist).

Here is a good article on floaters:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/spotsfloats.htm

If you are seeing yellow or discolored spots or areas in your vision, you should see an eye doctor (opthamologist) as this may be a sign of cataracts or other problems.

This is a bit of a tangent but salmon is a great source of fatty acids that have been shown in clinical studies to be beneficial for people with retinal degenerations.

My caption for the Give A Dam For Salmon Cartoon Caption Contest was chosen as the winner.

See it at http://www.giveadamforsalmon.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=90

Having Retinitis Pigmentosa makes it challenging for me to take the typical color blindness tests.  I tried the Ishihara test at Ishihara Test for Color Blindness and was unable to see any numbers until after I read the answers and looked again.  I was then able to make out the numbers that indicated that I am red/green colorblind.

I wonder if it is more common for people with retinal degenerations to also be color blind.  I looked at some research articles on this but didn’t find anything definitive.  It does seem possible though since RP and color blindness are both types of retinal degenerations.

Antioxidants and other nutrients such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, B Vitamins, Copper, Zinc, and Taurine are important in maintaining eye health. The best way to get these is through a healthy diet containing a variety of organic fruits and vegetables. Also check your multivitamin do see if it provides what you need on those days when your diet isn’t so healthy.

Zeaxanthin has been shown to slow the progression of Macular Degeneration. Lutein also protects the retina from damaging ultraviolet and blue light. Amazon sells ICaps Lutein & Zeaxanthin Formula .

The study on DHA supplementation completed in 2004 did not show benefits from supplementing with DHA alone on people already taking Vitamin A. However, it did show that people eating a diet rich in fish containing Omaga-3 fatty acids did show a slowing of the progression of their retinal degeneration. If you don’t eat 1 to 2 servings of oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, or sardines per week, it might be a good idea to supplement with fish oil. Amazon sells Nature Made Fish Oil, 1,200 mg (100 Softgels) .

Vitamin A has been shown to extend the useful vision of people with retinal degenerations by many years. 15,000 IU per day of Vitamin A in the Palmitate form is recommended. If you take a multivitamin containing 5,000 IU of Vitamin A you may want Carlson Laboratories - Vitamin A, 10000 IU, 250 softgels. It is not recommended to take Vitamin A in the Beta Carotene form as people with retinal degenerations may have problems converting the Beta Carotene to a usable form of Vitamin A in the body.

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic degeneration of the retina in the eye. It causes the progressive loss of peripheral vision, usually beginning with night blindness. The effect is somewhat like looking through a pinhole in a piece of paper. Check out the Foundation Fighting Blindness website for more information on RP and other causes of blindness.

There are many causes of blindness, including Retinitis Pigmentosa, Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, and Glaucoma.