Feb. 10, 2023 — February is Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month, and Prevent Blindness is offering free resources to educate the public and help patients make informed decisions about their vision and eye health.
 
A leading cause of vision loss, AMD affects more than 19 million Americans ages 40 and older as of 2019, according to a study based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System, “The Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the United States in 2019.”
 
For people who have been recently diagnosed with AMD, Prevent Blindness developed the AMD Learning Center, featuring AMD fact sheets and shareable graphics in English and Spanish, and the GuideMe app. By asking a series of questions about the user and their AMD diagnosis, the GuideMe app creates an individually tailored guide full of information, resources, and suggestions for being proactive about protecting vision health. The nonprofit also provides information—available in English and Spanish—on geographic atrophy, the advanced form of dry AMD.
 
For people living with glaucoma and their care partners, Prevent Blindness recently redesigned its Living Well with Low Vision site. One of the organization’s most visited online resources, the site offers a variety of free directories, a library of self-help guides, downloadable apps, and relevant news for those with glaucoma and significant visual impairment.
 
“As our population ages, the number of people who are affected by vision loss will continue to climb,” says Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Thanks to our generous partners [Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Genentech, and Horizon Therapeutics], we are able to provide the public with information they need to hopefully help slow the progression of AMD, as well as the resources for patients and care partners to face the many challenges that low vision can present.”
 
For more information: preventblindness.org.