Doctor, I have macula!
Macula is not a disease. Everyone has macula.
Outpatient clinics often hear patients describe their medical history in this way, which makes me laugh and cry. After repeating this answer habitually, I began to focus on examining the macula of the patient.
In front of a bunch of crude professional terms, patients can probably understand, only the word [macula], will always appear such understanding deviation. Let’s look at whether macula is what.
The macula is the normal structure of the fundus
The eye is like a ball-shaped structure. In the deep part that we cannot see, there is an important layer of tissue responsible for receiving and processing light signals, called retina.
It is a layer of transparent membrane attached to the inner wall of the eyeball, like the white membrane inside the egg shell, with very rich nerve cells, blood vessels and other tissues on it. Different parts of the retina, above, below, near the nose side, near the ear side, respectively, govern the visual function of the corresponding area.
The macula is the most special and important part of retinal tissue. It is responsible for our central vision, that is, the place where the eyes can see the most clearly, and depends entirely on the nerves of the macula.
Because of the structural difference, the retina in this small round area is the thinnest, the middle is concave, and the color is yellow, hence the name [macula].
Other parts of the retina are responsible for peripheral vision, so that what we see is not a point, but a certain range. We usually mainly use central vision, so lesions occurring in the macula have the most obvious impact on vision.
If we do an examination of the eye, optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans the retina and scans the macular region into the middle depression.
If macular spot goes wrong, what diseases will it get?
It can be simply divided into two categories: the first category is some diseases peculiar to macula. Common ones are:
1. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
This is a kind of common eye disease closely related to age growth. Macular retina can undergo atrophy, hemorrhage, exudation, neovascularization, scar and other changes, which have a great impact on vision.
2. Anterior macular membrane
An abnormal fibrous proliferative membrane appears in front of macula, which usually develops slowly and requires surgical treatment when vision drops obviously.
3. Macular hole
Long-term macular anterior membrane or trauma, high myopia and other reasons can lead to macular holes, that is, retinal tissue in the macular region is disconnected and defective, forming a [hole]. This situation mostly requires surgical treatment.
In addition, there are central serous chorioretinopathy (medium plasma), central exudative chorioretinopathy (medium osmosis), polypoidal choroidal angiopathy (PCV), Stargardt’s disease, etc.
The second type is caused by other lesions affecting the macula. Common ones are:
1. Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetes can lead to a variety of retinopathy and eventually blindness. Abnormal retinal capillary circulation can lead to long-term retinal edema, further forming macular cystoid edema. It is often not until then that patients feel obvious visual loss.
Therefore, patients with diabetes are reminded again that they must go to the ophthalmology department regularly to have fundus examinations.
2. Retinal detachment
Since many retinal detachments start from the peripheral part, the initial feeling is only that something is blocked in a certain direction. If you don’t see a doctor in time, the detachment will develop to the macula, and your vision will obviously decline, and the effect after the operation will not be good.
3. High myopia fundus lesions
Usually, myopia above 600 degrees is called high myopia. High myopia can lead to atrophy and thinning of multi-layer tissues of the eyeball, and macular hemorrhage, hiatus and other pathological changes can occur. Once the pathological changes involve macula, the therapeutic effect is not good.
Therefore, for people with high myopia, it is better to check their eyes regularly, and it is recommended to check them once a year.
There are also retinal arteriovenous occlusion, uveitis and other tissue lesions around the macula, which can affect the macula.
How to protect macula?
STEP 1 Don’t stare at a strong light source
Including the sun, laser pointer, arc light and other strong light sources, should try to avoid direct vision, otherwise it may cause macular burns, resulting in permanent vision loss or shadow in front of us.
2. Chronic diseases should be well controlled and eyes should be reviewed regularly.
Control cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, maintain a regular schedule, and know how to see a doctor in time.
3. Maintain a balanced daily diet and quit bad habits such as alcohol and tobacco.
No matter to the eyes or to the body, good living habits are always beneficial but not harmful.
4. Pay attention to wearing sunglasses to prevent age-related macular degeneration.
Studies have shown that the occurrence of age-related macular degeneration is related to sunlight exposure, smoking, drinking, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Avoiding long-term exposure to sunlight and wearing appropriate sunglasses may help reduce the occurrence of macular disease.
At the same time, it can also effectively prevent cataract and other diseases.
In addition, some studies have shown that antioxidant vitamins and other preparations have certain effects on the prevention and treatment of age-related macular degeneration. However, it has not been widely confirmed. At present, it is mostly used for adjuvant treatment of patients with macular degeneration who have been found clinically and has not been used to prevent macular diseases. However, there is no prevention method for diseases such as macular anterior membrane, macular hole and hereditary macular dystrophy.
I hope everyone can take good care of their eyes.