Smoking Increases The Risk Of Age Related Macular Degeneration

American Chronicle - Hayden Eck

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is characterized by problems in the sharp and central vision of a person. It usually affects people who are 60 years and older and is one of the leading causes of vision loss.

Smoking and AMD

Various studies have provided conclusive results that link smoking with an increased risk of suffering from AMD. The chance of suffering from AMD both, atrophic age related macular degeneration and neo-vascular degeneration double in smokers. The studies have also shown that former smokers don´t show the same risk of suffering from this condition; and if compared to people who never smoked, the dice is just about loaded in favour of non smokers. Another finding of the study was that as a smoker you can develop AMD around ten years before non smokers. These studies also draw a link between specific genetic background, heavy smoking, and the risk of AMD. It´s been seen that there is a dramatic increase in the risk factor.

Quit smoking to reduce risk

AMD causes blindness. No two ways about the fact. If you don´t want to lose your vision, it´s important that you do something about your smoking habit. So, what is it that you want to do? Cutting down on your smoking habit is not going to help matters much. You need to cut down completely on cigarettes. It´s not going to be an easy task but you need to quit smoking. If you are having trouble quitting, you can take the help of prescription quit smoking pills like Chantix to help in your efforts to quit smoking.

Accurate and timely diagnosis of AMD

If you think you are facing chronic problems with your vision, its time that you consult your doctor. More so, if you are a smoker! A regular checkup session with your doctor is necessary to know if you are suffering from this condition. AMD is a progressive condition, so you don´t really want to leave it till very late to start off on a treatment plan. Any doctor will tell you that the first thing you must do to help manage your condition is to quit smoking. The doctor can also recommend the intake of various medications along with your quit smoking endeavor. If you have already begun your intake of prescription medications like Chantix, it´s important to make sure that you aren´t going to suffer from any adverse interaction of taking these medications.

Not just another risk factor of smoking

Many smokers might regard AMD as just another health risk of smoking. Also, the fact that it usually manifests itself when you are older, might also contribute to you not giving the due importance to this condition. But, the fact of the matter is that it needs to be treated with due seriousness, because if you don´t, you might start losing your vision. This is going to have a huge impact on the general quality of life. So, why wait for that to happen before you realize the seriousness of the situation.

Hayden Eck - Webmaster of leading online health clinic Chantix-Buy.com, has been providing health newsletters and articles since last three years. He discusses smoking effects with brief description about quit smoking pills