Macular degeneration

For people living with dry or wet macular degeneration who want supportive care alongside their retinal specialist. Injections, monitoring and the nutrient plan your eye doctor recommends stay exactly where they are.

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Read through

BothWesternClassical

Two lenses, one plan

Water 水 is the phase it is most often read through. Here the Western lens leads, with the classical lens alongside.

The Western lensAnatomy, physiology, biomechanics

The macula and its supply line

The macula packs the cones that give you fine detail and color into a very small area, and it sits on a support layer, the retinal pigment epithelium, that clears waste and feeds it. In AMD that support layer and the vessels beneath it are thought to fall behind the demand placed on them.

Drusen and atrophy: Drusen are deposits of waste under the retina. As they grow, the support layer can thin into patches of atrophy, which is the slow loss seen in late dry AMD.
Leaking vessels: In the wet form, new vessels grow from beneath the retina in response to signals of poor supply. They leak fluid and blood, which is why the injections used for wet AMD block those growth signals.
Risk you can influence: Smoking, blood pressure and diet are linked with AMD risk. Your eye doctor will advise on these and on whether a nutrient formula suits your stage.

The classical lensChannels, patterns, the five phases

Water and Earth at the center of sight

In the classical reading the deep retina is Kidney territory, and the Liver blood that opens into the eyes depends on it. Age spends that reserve, so the dry form is usually read as Liver and Kidney yin running thin.

Fluid and the Spleen: Where fluid and leakage lead, as in the wet form, the Spleen's failure to transform damp is added to the reading, and the work often strengthens the center before it nourishes.
Formulas follow the pattern: For the Liver and Kidney picture, a practitioner might consider Lycium, Chrysanthemum and Rehmannia (Qi Ju Di Huang Wan, 杞菊地黃丸); where Spleen damp and turbid fluid lead, a formula that drains damp and strengthens the center instead.

Patterns we often see

Liver and Kidney yin deficiency gān shèn yīn xū 肝腎陰虛
Spleen qi deficiency with dampness pí xū shī shèng 脾虛濕盛
Blood stasis in the fine vessels luò mài yū zǔ 絡脈瘀阻

Patterns are examples of how this is often read, never a diagnosis. Yours is read at your visit.

How we work: one plan

A visit combines M48 micro acupuncture for the macula with scalp acupuncture, Master Tung's points and electro-stimulation when appropriate, plus a classical formula chosen for dry or wet change. Injections and monitoring stay with your retinal specialist, who remains your primary eye doctor.

Formulas here illustrate how pattern diagnosis shapes treatment. They are not recommendations; a practitioner selects and adjusts formulas for the individual.

What macular degeneration is

The macula is a small area at the center of the retina that gives you sharp central vision. In age-related macular degeneration (AMD) it slowly wears down. Straight lines may start to bend, words go patchy on the page, and faces lose their detail while side vision usually stays.

Dry AMD is the more common form: yellow deposits called drusen collect beneath the macula and the tissue thins, sometimes into areas of atrophy. Wet AMD is when fragile new blood vessels grow and leak under the retina, which can change sight quickly. Conventional care is regular monitoring, a specific nutrient formula for eligible dry cases, and injections that block vessel growth in the wet form.

Checking your central vision

Many retinal specialists ask patients to look at a grid each day, one eye at a time. If the lines suddenly look wavy, a dark patch appears or vision drops over days, contact your retinal specialist promptly, because wet AMD can need treatment quickly. That call comes before any visit here.

How we work with it

Care for AMD combines M48 micro acupuncture for the macula with scalp acupuncture over the visual cortex, distal Master Tung's points and electro-stimulation when appropriate. For the dry form, the formula tends to nourish the Kidney and Liver; where fluid is part of the picture, Spleen work comes first. In the wet form we work in the weeks between injections, never in place of them.

Progress is followed through what you notice (reading, faces, the grid at home) and through the OCT scans and acuity results your retinal specialist already takes.

Questions people ask

Can acupuncture help macular degeneration?

It is offered here as supportive care, and research on acupuncture for macular degeneration is ongoing. It does not regrow macular tissue or replace your retinal care. We tell you honestly what we find in your case and track changes against your own exams.

I have wet AMD and get injections. Can I still come?

Yes. Keep every injection appointment. Visits here are scheduled around them, and any herbal formula is reviewed with your treatment in mind.

Should I keep taking my eye vitamins?

Keep whatever nutrient plan your eye doctor has recommended. We review everything you take before suggesting any herb, and we never ask you to change what your physician prescribed.

Is dry AMD treated differently from wet AMD?

Often, yes. Dry change is usually read through the Kidney and Liver first, while leakage and fluid in the wet form bring the Spleen and blood stasis into the picture, so the points and any formula follow that.

From the journal

This is general wellness information, not medical advice.

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