(ARMD): Wet and Dry Type
ARMD is a major cause of irreversible blindness in the US, where millions of Americans are suffering the effects of this condition.
Conventional medicine has no truly effective treatment for ARMD,although there are medications and laser procedures that may have
ARMD is the gradual deterioration of the cells in the macula, the area that processes central vision and acute vision. ARMD results in slow central vision loss (or fogginess), where straight lines may become crooked, shapes seem blurry, and faces distort. The peripheral vision is not affected.
There are two types of ARMD, wet and dry. Ninety percent of people with ARMD have the dry type, characterized by small yellow
spots called ╥drusen╙ which form under the macula. The drusen slowly damage the cells of the macula and vision loss progresses.
It seems as though approximately 10% of people with dry ARMD progress to a more serious condition called ╥wet ARMD.Here, abnormal blood vessels begin to grow toward the macula in an attempt to nourish it. These new vessels are often frail and may
leak or cause a hemorrhage. The blood and fluids that leak from these vessels can be very damaging to the macula, causing rapid and severe vision loss. Conventional medicine most often uses laser eye surgery to ╥patch╙ the leaky vessels. This is like soldering an old pipe. You can only patch it up so much. Chinese medicine seeks to repair
the integrity of the whole structure, and can be highly effective in
In Chinese medicine, ARMD can have many patterns, but most often I see Spleen weakness with Liver congestion. In my experience, Chinese medicine, naturopathy, and nutrition are far ahead of conventional medicine in offering any hope for ARMD.