New research carried out among people in Ireland over the age of 50 identified sight loss as their most commonly held fear, with 40 per cent of respondents highlighting that they would miss their independence most if they were affected by visual impairment, followed by reading (23 per cent ) and driving (16 per cent ).
The research was carried out ahead of this year’s AMD Awareness Week, which takes place from Saturday September 17 – Sunday 25 and is supported by National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI ), Fighting Blindness, the Irish College of Ophthalmologists (ICO ), and the Association of Optometrists Ireland (AOI ), in association with Novartis.
Throughout the week free testing and information will be available to detect the early signs of AMD at a range of participating local opticians and eye doctors in Kilkenny.
AMD Awareness Week aims to increase public awareness on how to spot the symptoms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD ), and to highlight the importance of early diagnosis. AMD is the principal cause of sight loss for people over the age of 50 in the Western World. Although it is not as well known as other eye diseases such as cataracts or glaucoma, it is the most common cause of registered blindness in Ireland and affects one in 10 people over the age of 50.
The research identified that 34 per cent of respondents, who are all in the most at-risk age category, had never heard of age-related macular degeneration.
Further information about AMD and free testing locations throughout Kilkenny is available at www.amd.ie
