WASHINGTON — She made us laugh — and sometimes cringe — at her jokes. Now, comic Roseanne Barr is tackling a very serious issue: Barr says she has both macular degeneration and glaucoma and is going blind.
It is a fairly common diagnosis among the elderly, though rather unusual for a 62-year-old like Barr.
Dr. Thomas Yau, an ophthalmologist in Silver Spring, Maryland, says macular degeneration is an aging of the retina, while glaucoma affects the optic nerve that sends signals to the brain. He says the combination of the two can play havoc with a patient’s eyesight.
“It is a huge problem because macular degeneration affects your central vision and glaucoma will limit your peripheral vision,” Yau explains. But there are ways to help protect your eyes — and the best prevention is a healthy lifestyle.
“Don’t smoke; have blood pressure that is well controlled; try to control diabetes if you have that problem,” says Yau, who also suggests keeping weight in check.
People who are concerned about macular degeneration and glaucoma should also make a point of getting regular eye exams, including dilation and an eye pressure check for glaucoma.
There are treatments for both conditions, and Yau says they work best when the problem is caught early. “Smaller troubles are much easier to treat — so early detection will give you a much better result.”
Dry macular degeneration — which doesn’t involve fluid problems in the eye — can be treated with high-dose vitamins that can slow or halt the progression of the disease.
Wet macular degeneration is more serious because there can be hemorrhages or bleeding in the retina, but some dramatic treatments are available.
Yau says there are highly effective eye drops for glaucoma. And overall, he stresses, treatments are far better today than they were a generation ago.
