Q: AMD symptoms usually develop gradually and without any eye pain, so they may difficult to detect. The hallmark symptom of AMD is a progressively developing blurred area near the very center of your vision, either in one eye or both. With time, the blurry central area can grow larger or you may develop dark spots that completely block out any images. On the other hand, peripheral vision is not affected by AMD.  Objects in your central vision may not appear to be as bright as they used to be — colors can get dull. AMD affects only the central part of your vision because that's where the macula is located. The macula is in the center of the retina and needed for sharp vision of objects that are straight ahead. Another common symptom of AMD is strange visual distortions — objects may appear distorted in shape, or straight lines may look wavy, crooked or bent. When these symptoms develop, people may think they're hallucinating. Although other eye diseases cause blurriness, only macular disease (including AMD, cystoid macular edema, diabetic macular edema, and others) creates these types of visual distortions.  Visual distortions associated with advanced stages of AMD make it difficult to drive, read and recognize faces. AMD often affects both eyes at the same time, but if only one is affected, it's difficult to notice visual changes because your good eye compensates for the affected eye. Another common symptom of progressive AMD is an increased difficulty adapting to low-light situations, such as dimly lit rooms, offices or restaurants. You might also feel the need for brighter light when reading books or doing work close to your face. If you find yourself or your partner turning on lights much more frequently than before, then it could be a sign of AMD.  Correlated to seeing things more dimly is perceiving a decreased intensity or brightness of colors. The world tends to take on a darker and drabber look with AMD. AMD doesn't affect peripheral (side) vision, so it doesn't cause complete blindness — although people with advanced symptoms are often labelled as legally blind and not allowed to drive a car or operate heavy machinery. The cause of AMD is not clearly understood, but a number of risk factors have been noticed, such as: hereditary (genetic) link, advanced age, female gender, cigarette smoking, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Caucasian race (skin color). Most people with AMD have at least a couple if not most of these risk factors.  In terms of age, AMD is most common in people older than 65 years. Smoking tobacco and being overweight, particularly if you're obese, puts you at much higher risk of AMD. These factors also increase your risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, which negatively affect the blood vessels of the eye.
A: Don't ignore blurry central vision. Be alert for strange visual distortions. Watch for difficulty adapting to low-light conditions. Be aware of the risk factors.

Q: A good way to make putting your outfit together easier is to pick one item and craft the entire outfit around that item. Usually the specific item is one of the statement pieces, but it doesn't have to be.  Example: If you're looking to showcase a big gorgeous necklace, wear a plain, neutral t-shirt with a neck that's cut so that the necklace can be seen. Pair this with jeans and a pair of flats. This way the necklace acts as the most important part of the outfit with nothing to draw attention away from it. You can also work an outfit around a specific color. So for instance, one week you could wear something red each day and make outfits around that color and the next week you could move on to green. For instance you could pair a red skirt with a black blouse, navy tights, black boots and blue jewelry. ' This means find the two or three basic ensembles you like to wear and put together outfits using these as bases, while you mix things up a little. These will be the outfits that you feel most comfortable in.  For example, you could find that you tend towards an ensemble of skinny jeans (black and denim), a few different t-shirts (both long and short sleeve) with varying footwear (for instance, you could dress the outfit up with a pair of ankle boots or some flats). If you wear a lot of jeans you could mix things up a bit by rolling up the cuffs (a good spring or summer variation). You could vary between jeans and a sweater and skirts and a sweater. This would give you more range. The color and type of sweater could change and you could vary it with different jewelry, scarves and shoes, but the basic outfit would either be jeans and sweater or skirt and sweater. Mixing and matching clothing is your basis for choosing different outfits each day. This way you don't have to wear the same t-shirt and jeans routine that you always do (although that's perfectly okay if that's what you like).  Using a black blazer as an example: you could put the blazer with jeans, a white t-shirt, a bright blouse and flats. You could pair the blazer with a pale spring skirt, ankle boots and chunky jewelry. Or you could put the blazer over a long, colorful summer dress and wear sandals. With only 8 different pieces of clothing you can make a variety of outfits. Pick a solid colored and a print t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a skirt, a dress, a cardigan, a blouse, and a vest. You could wear the print t-shirt with the jeans and the vest and a pair of sandals. You could wear the dress, the cardigan and a skinny belt, or the dress, the vest and a pair of boots. You could pair the skirt with each of the tops in turn and wear either the vest or the cardigan over them. Pair with jewelry, a scarf, and a shoes. You can change your wardrobe around as the seasons change (if you live in a place where that happens). Save the warmer scarves and sweaters for fall and winter along with your warmer jackets.  Have boots work as your cool weather footwear, while flats and sandals can be your warmer weather go-tos. Colors, too, can change depending on the season. In warmer parts of the wear you could wear paler colors to keep you cooler and more floral prints to reflect the flowers. In winter it's fun to wear some brighter colors especially if you live in a dark or rainy place, so that your bright gold scarf or red dress brings a flare of color to an otherwise drably colored day. As you try out outfits, mixing and matching and determining what your base style is, take pictures, or write down a description, of each outfit. This way you can remember what worked and what didn't, so that you either recreate the outfit, or you can remember that that particular outfit didn't work. This can also help you decide what to wear if you're feeling unsure. Just go back through your outfit photos and pick the one you liked the best. You'll feel confident because you know it looks good and your decision will have been made. Look everywhere for outfit ideas. Look at mannequins in store windows, look a catalogs and fashion magazines, look at what people are wearing as you're out and about. These will give you ideas for what you can try out. You don't have to go out and buy all new things based on an outfit you saw in a magazine or on the street. Instead, go through your wardrobe and see what clothing you already own that you can use to recreate the look. This way you won't  be copying exactly, you'll be putting your own style onto it. This is the most important part of putting together outfits and especially in getting good at it. You have to try out different styles and clothes and outfits before you find the ones that you really like. Only re-wear the outfits that you liked and that you felt comfortable and confident in. Comfort and confidence are the keys to looking good.
A:
Work around one item. Pick your 'uniform. Mix and match. Think seasonal. Create a style library. Look for outfit ideas. Experiment.