Posts Tagged ‘retirement community hinsdale’

Heat and humidity are a given in mid-summer, but if you’re a senior citizen, hot weather can be much more than just a nuisance. The body’s natural defenses against heat can break down with age, putting seniors at risk for heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and other serious disorders.

According to ahealthyme.com, several factors make senior citizens especially vulnerable to hot weather, according to. Older bodies can be slow to sense and respond to changes in heat, so seniors often don’t start sweating until their temperature has already soared. Even when the body’s cooling devices kick in, they probably don’t work as well as they used to. Sweat glands can grow less efficient with age, and other normal changes in the skin slow down the release of heat.

In addition, many common conditions can hamper an older person’s ability to regulate temperature, including diseases of the heart, lung, and kidneys; high blood pressure; diabetes; and other conditions that cause poor circulation. Finally, several medications commonly prescribed to seniors can affect the body’s ability to cool down. These include antidepressants, motion sickness drugs, and blood pressure medications.

For all of these reasons, it’s essential for seniors and their loved ones to understand the signs of dehydration, heat stroke and heat exhaustion, the most common forms of heat-related problems.

Dehydration occurs when a person loses more fluid than he or she takes in, and the body doesn’t have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. There are serious consequences if the lost fluids are not replaced.

Common causes of dehydration include diarrhea, vomiting, fever or excessive sweating. Inadequate intake of water during hot weather also may cause dehydration. Anyone can become dehydrated, but young children, older adults and people with chronic illnesses are most at risk.

A person can usually reverse mild to moderate dehydration by increasing the intake of fluids, but severe dehydration needs immediate medical treatment. Of course, the safest approach is prevention. Monitor fluid loss during hot weather, illness or exercise, and drink enough liquids to replace what’s lost.

Heat exhaustion is a condition with symptoms that may include heavy sweating and a rapid pulse, a result of the body overheating. A cause of heat exhaustion includes exposure to high temperatures, particularly when combined with high humidity. Without prompt treatment, heat exhaustion can progress to heatstroke.

Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition that occurs when a person’s body temperature reaches 104 F (40 C) or higher. Heatstroke can be brought on by high environmental temperatures, by strenuous physical activity or by other conditions that raise the body temperature. Whatever the cause, immediate medical attention is required in order to prevent brain damage, organ failure or death.

Heatstroke is the escalation of two other heat-related health problems: heat cramps and heat exhaustion. In these conditions, a person develops signs and symptoms that are milder than those of heatstroke. Heatstroke can be prevented with medical attention or by taking self-care steps as soon as problems are noticed.

Heat waves are often deadly for seniors. Older people living in homes without air conditioning need to be checked at least twice a day when the temperature reaches 90 and above, according to ahealthyme.com.

The best way to stay cool during a heat wave is to stay indoors with the air conditioner on high. If there is no air conditioner, consider taking a trip to a cooling center, an indoor mall, library, or movies. A fan can help, but it can’t take the place of an air conditioner. If the temperature reaches the 90s, even the best fan may not protect a person from heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Seniors, when you do go outside on a hot day, use common sense. Drink more than you need to quench your thirst, and if you’re sweating heavily, choose fruit drinks or sports beverages to replace lost minerals.

Like the song from Kiss Me Kate says, “It’s Too Darn Hot.”

Is it a given that the older a person is, the more medications he or she takes? Not necessarily, but people are more likely to develop one or more chronic illnesses with advancing age. It’s wonderful that appropriate medication can help seniors live longer and more active lives, but there is a safety concern. Taking multiple medications increases the risk for drug interactions, mix-ups, and the potential for side effects.

According to Pfizer, the effects of aging cause older adults’ bodies to process and respond to medicines differently than those of younger people. Age-related changes in the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, and heart are among the contributing factors causing elderly people to be more vulnerable to overdose and troubling side effects.

Also, age-related challenges like memory loss or poor eyesight can make it harder to follow instructions for taking medication.

If a person is seeing several doctors at once, there’s a chance these doctors may not all be communicating with each other, and the person may not be reporting all medications at each visit. This lack of communication among doctors leads to what is called “a prescribing cascade,” according to AARP. This means a doctor may prescribe medication to treat what he or she believes is a medical condition, when in fact the medication will really be treating a side effect of another drug that the patient has neglected to report.

The more medications the patient is on, the more risks there are for side effects and risky medication interactions. There are two kinds of interactions:

• Drug-drug interactions happen when two or more medicines react with each other to cause unwanted effects or make either medicine’s effects more or less potent. Such interactions may also be caused by alcohol, nutritional supplements or herbal products, and nonprescription medicines as well as prescription medications.

• Food-drug interactions happen when medicines react with foods or beverages. For example, grapefruit juice should not be taken with certain blood pressure – lowering medications. And dairy products should be avoided with some antibiotics and antifungal medications.

Medication Dos and Dont’s from WebMD:

• Do take each medication exactly as it has been prescribed.
• Do make certain that all doctors know about all medications being taken.
• Do let doctors know about using any over-the-counter medications, vitamins, supplements and herbs.
• Do use the same pharmacy to fill all prescriptions. Their computers are a boon to accurate tracking.
• Do keep medications out of the reach of children. Use the childproof safety caps.
• Don’t change the dose of schedule with consulting the doctor.
• Don’t use someone else’s medication.
• Don’t crush or break pills unless told to do so by the doctor.
• Don’t use medication past its expiration date.
• Don’t store medications in places that are too hot or too cold. The bathroom cabinet may not be the best place for medications.

Oh my aching knees. According to senior-fitness.com, in a typical year more than 6 million seniors, age 62 and older, will visit a doctor because of knee pain.

A healthy knee easily can withstand loads equal to more than four times the body weight. Pretty amazing, don’t you agree?

A knee is a joint, and a joint occurs wherever two bones come together. But that definition doesn’t begin to convey the intricacy of joints which provide the body with flexibility, support and a wide range of motion.

The body has four types of joints: fixed, pivot, ball-and-socket, and hinge.  Knees are hinge joints which work much like the hinge of a door, allowing the joint to move backward and forward. Knees are the largest and heaviest hinge joints in the body. They’re also the most complex. In addition to bending and straightening, they twist and rotate like a gyroscope. This makes knees especially susceptible to damage which is why they sustain more injuries on average than do other joints.

The knee joint is four bones held together by ligaments. The thighbone (femur) makes up the top part of the joint, and two lower leg bones, the tibia and the fibula, are the lower part. The fourth bone, the patella, slides in a groove on the end of the femur. Ligaments are large bands of tissue that connect bones to one another. In the knee joint, four main ligaments link the femur to the tibia and help stabilize the knee as it moves through its arc of motion.

Over the course of a lifetime, natural lubricants dry-up, and the cartilage wears away. This can lead to arthritis. Then is knee pain inevitable? Many experts think that the human knee can last a long lifetime, provided it’s not abused and receives some basic preventive maintenance. The right lifestyle and activity choices can help make knees stronger, healthier, and more pliant. Most important is to keep moving.

Tips & Warnings from ehow.com:

• First and foremost, ask your doctor whether knee exercises are safe for you.
• Walk around for a few minutes before doing knee exercises to give muscles a chance to warm and stretch.
• Repeat any knee exercise only two or three times in the beginning.
• Wear comfortable, sturdy shoes to enhance balance and avoid jerky movements when doing knee exercises.
• Do not hold your breath when doing muscle-tightening exercises.
• Do not kneel directly on your knees when gardening or doing chores around the house. Seniors should use a low stool or padded kneepads.
• Do not exercise to the point that you start to feel pain
• Knee exercises must be done very slowly and gradually increased to avoid putting too much stress on muscles, tendons and ligaments.

The following exercises are recommended for seniors by ehow.com:

To strengthen the quadriceps (front of the thigh):

• Sit in a chair with your back straight and the balls of your feet touching the floor. If your entire foot lies flat on the floor, sit on some cushions to lift yourself up so only the balls of your feet touch the floor. Your hands can be either resting on your thighs or holding the chair.
• Bring your right leg in front of you and lift it very slowly until your knee is straight without feeling painful.
• Point your toes back towards your head while in this position and hold for 3 seconds.
• Lower your leg back slowly to the starting position, resting the balls of your feet on the floor.
• Repeat the entire exercise with your left leg. You can repeat this exercise 5 to 10 times if comfortable.

To strengthen the hamstrings (back of the thigh):

• Sit up straight in a chair with arms that will not move as you do this exercise. Prop the chair against a wall if that will keep it stable. Place legs at a 45-degree angle with heels resting on the floor.
• Dig your heels into the floor as you hold onto the arms of the chair. Hold that position for 5 seconds. You will feel your hamstring muscles tighten as you do this.
• Relax for 10 seconds and then repeat 5 to 10 times.

Most seniors, as they age, they think about their Will. They see a lawyer and make decisions about the division of assets among children and/or grandchildren. There’s another kind of asset to leave family members that is historic and incalculably dear – the story of your life.

A granddaughter expressed regret that she never really knew her grandparents on her father’s side. They came through Ellis Island from Finland, and they both were gone by the time the granddaughter was 12. Decades later, as she faced her own mortality, her thoughts dwelled on the couple, and she wished she had asked her dad more details about what his parents were like. But he had died, too, and the unasked questions were haunting. Any stories about the courage it must have taken to come to America are impossible to know.

If only…if only they had written down a personal story or two.

The drama of coming through Ellis Island isn’t a necessity to tell a life story, however. All the remembrances and experiences of a long life are precious and priceless. Life story writing leaves a lasting legacy for future generations. And it can bring enjoyment, satisfaction and even closure in the last stage of life.

Of the many excellent books on autobiographical writing, perhaps the best for seniors is Lois Daniel’s How to Write Your Own Life Story. The author suggests writing in small sketches of a few sentences each. In addition to genealogical and family life stories – circumstances of birth, favorite toys, stories about siblings and grandparents, she suggests topics such as where were you on important days in history, accomplishments of which you are the most proud and inventions of the day.

According to CreativeQuotations.com, Grandma Moses, in her autobiography, wrote, “I have written my life in small sketches, a little today, a little yesterday, all the things from childhood on through the years, good ones and unpleasant ones, that is how they come out and that is how we have to take them.”

Life story writing in a group can be very enjoyable, and it’s an excellent way to build community with others. Sometimes a family member can serve as a scribe while the senior reminisces aloud. Often a grandchild or great-grandchild compiles the stories and self-publishes from his or her computer. With a little computer know-how, the document can have photos to go along with the stories.

Writing your life story: six suggestions for seniors from JournalTherapy.com

1. Write in small sketches of five or ten minutes on specific topics, such as a favorite holiday, the first job, a memorable world event.
2. Engage family members in the process. Invite correspondence, or ask nearby relatives to scribe “spoken poems” by writing down everything that is said, in your exact words.
3. Join a life story or memoir writing group. Ask at your senior center, library, or doctor’s office. If a writing group doesn’t exist, see if you can get one started.
4. Tell the stories of how you participated in world history. Where were you when you heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor? How did you and your family spend the Great Depression years? Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated? How did you and America react to 9/11?
5. Write your “ethical will.” What life lessons, personal philosophies, mottos, and core values do you want to leave as legacy to your descendants? How did you learn these lessons or acquire these philosophies?
6. Ask someone in your family with computer skills to compile your stories into a self-published memoir.

In recognition of National Nutrition Month, registered dietitian Linda Graham will present a talk titled, “Feeling Better by Eating Better,” at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, at The Birches Assisted Living, 215 55th St., Clarendon Hills. The public is welcome to join the residents for this free presentation.

Graham is a registered dietitian with Cynthia Chow and Associates, LLC, of Chicago. The company partners with nursing homes, long-term care facilities, hospitals and healthcare facilities by providing registered dietitians who possess the highest level of expertise in clinical nutrition and foodservice management.

Graham will present an overview of good nutrition for the older adult. Numerous benefits of a healthy diet and proper nutrition include: increased mental acuteness; resistance to illness and disease; higher energy levels; a more robust immune system; faster recuperation times; and better management of chronic health problems.

As people age, their relationship to food changes along with their bodies. Younger people may grab fast food on the run and not think twice about it. In later life, however, eating well can be the key to staying mentally sharp, emotionally balanced and energetic, with a strong immune system and a positive outlook. A healthy eating plan emphasizes fruit, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat or fat-free milk or milk products; includes lean meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts; and is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars.

Balancing physical activity and a healthful diet is the best recipe for health and fitness. Older adults should set a goal to be physically active at least 30 minutes every day. This can be broken up into 10-minute sessions throughout the day. (Check with your health-care provider before beginning a new physical activity program.)

After her presentation, Graham will answer questions from the audience regarding nutrition. The presentation is free and open to the public. Space is limited, so registration is required. For more information call Carol Weigel at 630-789-1135 or visit http://www.birches.net.

If only there was a recipe for aging well – a little of this and a little of that, and voila! Perfect old age.

Well, according to the National Institutes for Health’s magazine, “Medline Plus,” there are seven important “ingredients” to aging well. There are no concrete promises that it will turn out perfectly, of course, but these seven steps are everyone’s best shot.

First, quit smoking! It is never too late to quit, especially because smoking is a leading risk factor for lung cancer. Quitting smoking may be challenging, but there are resources to help. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has guidelines for quitting in its Cancer Topics online. The American Lung Association’s “Freedom From Smoking Online” program describes smoking cessation program and offers support from many other smokers and former smokers.

Second, lose some weight! Studies show that being overweight increases the risk of many diseases in seniors including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and other health-related problems. Losing as little as 5 to 15 percent of body weight can significantly improve health. A safe, healthy rate of weight loss is half a pound to two pounds per week.

Third, get moving! It’s a fact that exercise burns calories. Generally, seniors have less muscle mass in the body, but strength exercises can help to restore strength and muscle mass, often fairly quickly. To get started on an exercise plan, talk to the doctor about what is right for you. Working up to exercising 4 to 6 days per week for 30 to 60 minutes will work wonders.

Fourth, control blood pressure. High blood pressure or hypertension can lead to stroke, heart disease, eye problems and kidney failure. High blood pressure is defined as a blood pressure of 140 over 90 or higher at two different checkups. What helps is a healthy weight, regular exercise, healthy diet, watch the salt, watch alcohol, and listen to the doctor!

Fifth, control cholesterol levels. The body needs some of this waxy substance, but an excess of it in the blood can clog arteries and lead to heart disease or stroke. To reduce levels of LDL and increase HDL, it’s vital to eat well and exercise. If medications are needed to control cholesterol, they will be used in combination with a good diet and exercise.

Sixth, don’t drink too much.  Drinking more than the recommended amount (two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women) can increase the risk of certain cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, problems with the immune system, and brain damage. In other situations, irresponsible drinking can lead to car accidents. The best advice is, if you drink, drink responsibly.

Seventh, practice prevention. Stay with the same doctor if possible, that is if you like him or her. Keep up to date with flu shots, and use sunscreen. Take medicines on time, and stay informed. Trusted, up-to-date information can be found at www.medlineplus.gov and www.nihseniorhealth.gov.

Some of us remember when elder grandparents lived in the same household with their children and grandchildren. It’s a rarity these days. Today, many families are scattered and separated by distances both great and small. The website GrandParenting.org says that no matter how far grandparents and grandchildren live from one another, there are two things working in their favor that can help to keep their bond alive and well:

First, young children have the ability to expand time. Remember when you were younger how time moved more slowly, and your house seemed enormous? This means the time you spend alone with your grandchild can nourish your grandchild for quite a while.

Second, technology is a marvelous asset in helping to encourage emotional connections over distance. True, technology can’t go fishing with a grandchild or help out a harried parent, but it can be a godsend to foster ongoing communication

In fact, communication is the most indispensable factor in keeping grandparent and grandchild as close as possible no matter how far apart they live. Today, there are lots of ways to communicate.

About.com reminds us that the “old” ways are still extremely meaningful: letters to an individual grandchild, letters with sketches or drawings, photos of yourself, greeting cards, a note with a stick of chewing gum, packages with several small items, or send something hand-made like a birdhouse or quilt. Young kids like the thought more than the content. Just the fact they receive a letter is more important than what is in it.

Technology has given everyone even more options. Lots of kids are computer literate, and now’s the time to have someone show you the ropes of email. There’s also videoconferencing (you can talk with your grandchild real-time, face-to-face). E-Mail, computer games, and the ability to send notes back and forth (or recipes, jokes,) can keep your contact loving and lively. You can even establish your own home page on the world-wide-web.

Faxes can be fun. One grandmother gave all of her grandchildren fax machines so they could keep in touch on a daily basis. Children can fax jokes, report cards, drawings etc. to their grandparents and vice versa. This grandma faxes her grandchildren individual notes several mornings a week.

Telephone contact is important, too. It’s a live voice. But make sure that you call your grandchild alone. Your grandchild wants to feel special and individual. It’s best to call at a regular time when your grandchild is not rushed or a parent is not harried about getting a meal on the table.

Some suggestions from GrandParentsToday.com:

• Videotape yourself reading a grandchild’s favorite story. If possible, have someone else record you and your spouse, especially on birthdays or other special occasions.
• Bake and send favorite cookies. Include the recipe, and videotape yourself making the cookies for a personal cooking lesson.
• For a far-away grandchild’s birthday, buy party hats, favors, balloons, etc. and send them to the grandchild to use at their party.
• Create a video family history using old slides and pictures. Narrate it or just set it to music. Or create a scrapbook with copies made from the original pictures.
• Watch a television show or rented movie “together.” For instance, at Christmas, plan to watch It’s a Wonderful Life and share your thoughts via a phone call, letter or e-mail.
• Have a prearranged time on New Year’s Eve for you and your children and grandchildren to each light a candle and make a special wish for the coming year.
• Make up a quiz about you and your spouse. It can be a fun way for your grandchildren to get to know you better.

Most importantly, be there when your grandchild is born and be there for the important events; graduations, religious passages, recitals, holidays, whatever events your family values highly. With a little time and ingenuity, connections can be strong and loving in spite of the miles between you.

People love to play Bingo, and it’s especially popular with seniors. This age group enjoys the game for entertainment and companionship, and added benefits are brain power and enhanced focus. And who isn’t excited to win? Most senior communities have Bingo as part of their weekly activities. Some feature Bingo every day.

Did you ever wonder who invented Bingo?

According to about.com, Bingo’s history can be traced back to 1530, to an Italian lottery game called “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia.” Travelers brought the game across the Alps to France where it was called “Le Lotto.” The Germans also played a version of the game in the 1800s, but they used it primarily to help students learn lessons.

Fast forward to 1929 in America. A game called “Beano” was introduced at a carnival near Atlanta, Georgia. A pitchman selected numbered discs from a cigar box, and players would mark their cards with beans. When they completed a line of beans horizontally, vertically or diagonally, they yelled “Beano” and won a prize or money.

Edwin S. Lowe, owner of a very small New York toy company (two employees), had a sales call near Atlanta. As he drove down the road, he happened upon the bright lights of the carnival. He was early for his appointment, so he stopped. There was a huge crowd filled with people wanting a turn at a game called Beano. Lowe knew his games, and he had never heard of it.

While he was waiting for a seat (which he never got), he noticed that the players seemed addicted to the game. The pitchman wanted to close up, but every time he announced the last game, nobody moved. The game finally shut down at 3 a.m. After locking up, the pitchman told Lowe that he had run across a game called Lotto while traveling with a carnival in Germany the previous year. He thought it would make a good tent or carnival game. He called it Beano.

Returning to his home in New York, Lowe bought some dried beans, a rubber numbering stamp and some cardboard. Friends were invited to his apartment, and Lowe assumed the pitchman’s duties. Soon his friends were playing Beano with the same tension and excitement as he had seen at the carnival. During one session Lowe noticed that one of his guests was close to winning. She got more excited as each bean was added to her card. Finally there was one number left – and it was called. The woman jumped up, became tongue tied, and instead of shouting “Beano,” stuttered “B-B-B-BINGO!” The name stuck.

Lowe realized the game’s potential and started to market it. He hired a math professor to help him increase the number of combinations in bingo cards. By 1930, Dr. Carl Leffler had invented 6,000 different Bingo cards. It is said that Leffler then went insane. Who can blame him?

By 1934 there were an estimated 10,000 Bingo games a week, and Ed Lowe’s firm had 1,000 employees frantically trying to keep up with demand. The company took up nine entire floors of its New York office space, and 64 presses printed 24 hours a day.

According to Wikipedia, the Lowe Bingo Game had two versions; the first a 12-card set for $1, the second a $2 set with 24 cards. Bingo was a huge success. By the 1940s Bingo games were all over the country. Lowe had many competitors, and all he asked was that they pay $1 a year to conduct the games and to use the name Bingo.

Bingo was off to a fast start, and at the same time, it had reserved itself next to baseball and apple pie – thanks to Ed Lowe and the loss of Professor Leffler’s sanity.

Then, a Catholic priest from Pennsylvania approached Lowe about using Bingo as a means of raising church funds. It caught on like wildfire.

The rest, as they say, is history.

It’s an old stereotype – You will lose all your teeth as you age, and all seniors have dentures. Not so!  Teeth are never too old to be repaired or replaced, and dentures aren’t the only game in town. Dental implants are a new option that many older adults are choosing. 

But let’s not talk about repairing or replacing. Let’s talk about keeping the mouth healthy in the first place.
According to WebMD, daily brushing and flossing of natural teeth is essential to keeping them in good oral health.

It’s important for all individuals – regardless of age -to:

• Brush at least twice a day with a fluoride-containing toothpaste.
• Floss at least once a day.
• Visit the dentist on a regular schedule for cleaning and an oral exam.

The Mayo Clinic says the state of oral health can offer lots of clues about a person’s overall health.

The mouth is normally teeming with bacteria. Brushing and flossing can keep these bacteria under control. Saliva also is a key defense against bacteria and viruses, because it contains enzymes that destroy bacteria in different ways.

But harmful bacteria can sometimes grow out of control and lead to periodontitis, a serious gum infection. This disease is caused by bacteria in dental plaque, which if not removed through daily tooth brushing and flossing, results in red or swollen gums that bleed easily. And, if plaque remains on teeth too long, a hard deposit called tarter or calculus forms. This deposit is removed by a dental hygienist or dentist when the teeth are professionally cleaned.

Left untreated, periodontal disease can destroy the gum tissues and bone around teeth, and eventually teeth can be lost. Periodontitis also may provide bacteria a port of entry into the bloodstream. Medications or treatments that reduce saliva flow or disrupt the normal balance of bacteria in the mouth also may lead to oral changes.

To summarize, oral health is connected to many other health conditions beyond the mouth. Sometimes the first sign of a disease shows up in the mouth. Simply said, oral health is important for overall health and vice versa.

As the economic crisis continues, some seniors may believe it’s reasonable to skip their annual eye exam. But for the older population, it’s critically important to keep tabs on the silent stealers of sight – cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease and macular degeneration. According to the National Eye Institute, by age 65, one-in-three Americans have some form of vision-impairing eye disease.

Often there are no warning signs, so most people don’t know it, or they assume that poor sight is a natural part of aging. It is not. By detecting and treating eye disease early through annual, comprehensive dilated exams, seniors can do so much to preserve their sight.

Let’s focus on just one of the sight-steeling diseases – age-related macular degeneration. The American Health Assistance Foundation tells us it is a common eye disease that causes deterioration of the macula, the central area of the retina, a paper-thin tissue at the back of the eye where light sensitive cells send visual signals to the brain. The macular processes sharp, clear, straight-ahead vision, color and fine detail, and damage to this area results in blind spots and blurred or distorted vision.

Age-related macular degeneration is a major cause of visual impairment in the United States. In fact, it is the leading cause of blindness among Caucasians over age 65. Almost 1.75 million Americans 40 years and older have advanced age-related macular degeneration, and another 7.3 million people with intermediate age-related macular degeneration are at substantial risk for vision loss. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be 2.95 million people with advanced age-related macular degeneration.

There are two forms of macular degeneration: dry and wet. Neither causes pain. The dry form of macular degeneration, in which the light sensitive cells of the macula slowly break down, is the most common type, accounting for 90 percent of diagnosed cases.

Wet macular degeneration accounts for approximately 10 percent of cases but results in 90 percent of legal blindness. It is considered advanced macular degeneration (there is no early or intermediate stage of wet macular degeneration). Wet macular degeneration is always preceded by the dry form of the disease.

To help diagnose macular degeneration, an ophthalmologist will perform a dilated eye exam, and it is imperative for older adults to visit their eye doctor at least once yearly.

Mayo Clinic lists the following risk factors for macular degeneration:

• Age – The number one risk factor is age.
• Smoking – Smoking increases an individual’s chances of developing age-related macular degeneration by two to five-fold.
• Family history of macular degeneration – An individual is more likely to be affected by age-related macular degeneration if someone in his or her immediate family has been affected.
• Gender – Females are more likely to be affected by age-related macular degeneration than males. This may be due to the fact that females live longer than males, and thus have more time to develop the disease.
• Race - Caucasians are more likely to be affected age-related macular degeneration than other races. This may be due to differences in genetic background or pigmentation.
• Prolonged sun exposure – Ultra-violet (UV) light damages retinal tissue directly and can also lead to the accumulation of products that are harmful to the retina.
• A high fat diet, and/or one that is low in nutrients and antioxidants – Individuals with diets high in fat, cholesterol and sugar, and low in antioxidants are more likely to be affected by age-related macular degeneration.
• Obesity - Overweight individuals are more likely to be affected by age-related macular degeneration.
• High blood pressure – High blood pressure, like smoking, leads to a constriction, or narrowing, of the blood vessels that nourish the retina, negatively affecting its health.
• Eye color – Individuals with light-colored eyes are more likely to be affected by dry age-related macular degeneration. This may be due to the fact that light-pigmented eyes offer less protection from damaging UV light.
• Inactivity – Individuals who do not follow a regular exercise routine are more likely to be affected by age-related macular degeneration.

Currently, there is no treatment or cure for advanced dry macular degeneration. However, ongoing research is hopeful. New treatment strategies are being investigated including retinal cell transplants, drugs to prevent or slow disease progress, radiation therapy, gene therapies, a computer chip implanted in the retina that may help simulate vision, and agents that will prevent new blood vessel growth under the macula.

Until an effective treatment is found, a healthy lifestyle may reduce the risk of developing macular degeneration. The following are recommended by Mayo Clinic: eat foods containing antioxidants, take antioxidant and zinc supplements (check first with your doctor), eat fish, stop smoking, get regular eye exams, manage other diseases by taking prescribed medications, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight.