Dr. Joseph Allen, whose Doctor Eye Health YouTube channel, Dr. Eye Health, has more than 1 million subscribers, shares the importance of eye health, macular degeneration, and being a social media-famous healthcare professional.
What is age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and how does it affect a patient’s daily life?
AMD is one of the more prominent blinding eye diseases that occur in people over the age of 50. This is where the retinal cells in the back of the eye begin to slowly die off and stop functioning. The exact cause of macular degeneration is not fully understood yet, but we know that risk factors such as aging, smoking, obesity, and diet all play a role.
Early on, people may not know they have a problem unless they’re seeing their eye doctor on a regular basis. It may be slowly developing without true vision loss, but the earliest sign that people may have is reduced vision at nighttime or in low-light situations. As macular degeneration slowly starts getting worse, it affects your central vision, so things like reading or recognizing faces become extremely difficult.
Macular degeneration is called age-related macular degeneration because it specifically affects the central bullseye in the back of the eye called the macula, which provides your sharp reading ability and color vision.
What are the main differences between dry AMD and wet AMD?
Dry macular degeneration is much more common and usually less severe. It usually starts off with minimal vision loss and then slowly gets worse over time. However, wet macular degeneration comes with much more severe vision loss. With wet macular degeneration, new blood vessels from behind the retina start growing into the retinal surface. These new blood vessels that grow are trying to bring nutrients to the retinal tissues that are starving, but these new blood vessels are very weak, and they tend to leak and cause fluid to build up within the retina. That should not be there, and because there’s fluid there, we call that wet macular degeneration.
While the dry form of macular degeneration is much slower and less severe, if left untreated, it can lead to Geographic Atrophy. This is where the retinal cells have completely atrophied and thinned out, and that results in blank spots in your vision.
Are there any new emerging therapies or preventive measures that can help combat AMD?
The earliest treatment that doctors have had is to prescribe an oral medication. There are some landmark research studies called the AREDS, or age-related eye disease studies, that have concluded that a certain mixture of supplements can slow down the progression of macular degeneration by roughly 25% over 5 years.
For people who have converted to wet macular degeneration, there are injections. While that may sound scary, these injections can stabilize and potentially reverse symptoms.
There are a few other things taking place in research, both here in the United States and internationally. I’m personally interested in light-based therapies, which have been able to slow down and, in some cases, reverse components of early macular degeneration.
Where do you see the future of eye health going in the next decade?
Certainly, there are a lot of things going on in the field of eye care and concerns we have with the population in the next 10 years.
One issue that will be researched more regarding eye health is diabetes. Diabetes can cause devastating vision loss within the eye, and it is critical that we do more research regarding the link between diabetes and eye health. The eyeball is one of the most highly vascular areas in the body, so if someone’s diabetic, those blood vessels can get weak and start to bleed and leak inside of the eye, resulting in a variety of complications.
Also, I think we’re going to see a huge spike in dry eye disease and myopia going forward. While more research is critical, I think one of the best things people can do is follow the classic lifestyle recommendations. Eating a balanced diet with fruits and vegetables can significantly help with eye diseases and even reduce the risk of developing macular degeneration. Additionally, even more research is showing that sleep can significantly boost the recovery of retinal tissues.
What advice would you give to someone who is newly diagnosed with an eye disease?
Following up with your doctor and listening closely to their recommendations is critical. Not being afraid to ask questions about your condition and being proactive about the disease is also very important. These small habits can have ripple effects and help improve other aspects of a patient’s life. As a doctor, I want all my patients to advocate for their health so I can do everything possible to help them live better lives.
How has your YouTube channel and following played a role in advocating for different eye diseases and in your life as a doctor?
I originally started just because there wasn’t very much about eye health on YouTube at the time. It has been validating to see that not just eye doctors are interested in this content. A lot of people are struggling with their eye health and are unable to receive the proper healthcare.
My goal with the YouTube channel is to provide answers to the most pressing questions regarding eye health. I want to encourage people to take good care of their health while delivering true information.
YouTube has made me a better doctor because it’s pushed me to become a better speaker in front of patients. This channel has also motivated me to research even more because I want to provide information and data from the most recent publications.
