AMD Awareness Week 2015

14th -20th September 2015

'Your Defining Moment'

Everybody has one – a moment big or small that changed your life for the better. As a part of Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Week 2015, the people of Ireland were asked to share their defining moment stories to bring attention to this very common eye disease, and encourage those most at risk to get tested and keep their eye health on the right path.

The Irish College of Ophthalmologists is working with NCBI, Fighting Blindness and the AOI to help increase public awareness of AMD and to highlight the importance of regular testing to identify early signs of the condition.

Read the inspiring stories in the Your Defining Moment booklet.

The main symptoms of AMD are slightly blurred vision, wavy lines or a blind spot in the centre of the field of vision. There are two types of AMD; dry and wet. Dry AMD is the most common form of the condition and develops slowly, eventually leading to loss of central vision; there are currently no proven treatments for dry AMD. Wet AMD is caused by leaky blood vessels inside the eye and is less common than dry AMD but it can cause more rapid loss of vision. The good news is that while wet AMD can develop quickly, in the majority of cases, if diagnosed and treated early, as much sight can be saved as possible and some people may even see an improvement in their eyesight.

A dedicated mobile testing unit will offer free AMD testing in various locations nationwide for AMD Awareness Week.

The mobile unit will visit Dublin, Donegal, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford offering free AMD eye testing and information to the general public. Free AMD testing will also be available in participating eye care providers nationwide.

Information about AMD and the free testing locations are available for the public to view on www.amd.ie

The Novartis AMD mobile testing unit will visit the following locations during AMD Awareness Week:

Dublin on Tuesday 15th of September:

• County Library Tallaght, Library Square, Tallaght, from 10am - 1pm
• Dún Laoghaire Lexicon Library, from 3.30pm - 6pm

Galway on Wednesday 16th of September:

• Ballybane Library, Castlepark Road, Ballybane, Galway from 10am - 1pm
• Galway Golf Club, Blackrock, Salthill, Galway from 2pm - 6pm

Limerick on Thursday 17th of September:

• Limerick City Library, The Granary, Michael Street, Limerick from 10am - 1pm
• Castletroy Golf Club, Golf Links Road, Castletroy, Limerick from 2pm - 6pm

Waterford on Friday 18^th of September:

• Pedestrian area, Broad Street, Waterford City from 10am - 1pm
• Waterford Golf Club, Newrath, Waterford from 2pm - 6pm

Cork on Saturday 19^th of September:

• Cork City Library, 57-61 Grand Parade, Cork from 10am - 1pm
• Cork Golf Club, Little Island from 2pm - 5pm

 

 

14^th September 2015