Hello doctor, My husband is suffering from heredomacular degeneration. And I am pregnant and have one daughter. Will this problem also affect my unborn and daughter? Kindly suggest me. Someone told me it is a genetic disease.
Hello. Heredomacular degeneration refers to a broad collection of diseases which affect vision by causing problems in the macular region of the retina. Some of these diseases are known to have a hereditary predisposition. The pattern of the precise inheritance can be known if you can provide details of the eye examination and the exact diagnosis made. Coming to the question of your daughters, I am afraid they too are at risk. The best way to deal with the situation is to have regular visits to your ophthalmologist, preferably a retina specialist with a decent setup of retinal diagnostic equipment. Home monitoring: The best time to do this would be while they are watching TV or doing some work requiring visual attention, attention is required if they may object to closing one eye/ go very close to the TV/ hold books or mobiles very close to their eyes. Children need at least one ophthalmologist visit a year to screen for and pick up problems at the earliest. The earlier the problem gets detected the better is the position we will be in to prevent irreversible problems.