Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) refers to the progressive deterioration or breakdown of an area of your retina called the macula, providing sharp central vision that allows you to read, drive safely, recognize faces and colors, as well as see fine details clearly.

Dry AMD often manifests itself in yellow deposits under the retina called drusen. They can be detected during a comprehensive dilated eye exam.

Blurred or hazy vision

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), also known as macular atrophy, often manifests itself in blurry vision as one of its symptoms. AMD occurs when the central part of your retina – the light-sensing tissue at the back of your eye–begins to disintegrate. While typically only affecting central vision, but may affect other functions like reading and driving as well. Initial stages often manifest with blurriness being its only visible symptom; it is essential to contact an eye care provider if suddenly or prolonged bouts of blurriness occur as it could indicate other serious eye or health conditions including stroke.

Blurred vision can be the result of myopia (shortsightedness) or hypermetropia (longsightedness), both correctable with glasses or contacts. However, blurred vision may also indicate cataracts or glaucoma which require medication or surgery to treat; or other eye diseases like uveitis as well as health conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Dry AMD often presents with blurred vision. At this stage, light-sensing cells in the macula become thinner as a result of age and other factors, leaving your vision clouded or blurry for periods of time before improving with brighter lighting conditions.

At an eye care professional visit, they’ll conduct various tests to detect changes to your vision. One such test is called an Amsler grid which displays straight lines arranged in a pattern – your eye care professional may ask you to look at this grid and note whether any straight lines appear wavy or crooked; wet AMD occurs when fluid leakage from blood vessels accumulates under the retina causing distortion.

Difficulty recognizing faces or objects

Macular degeneration is the gradual degradation of your macula, the small area at the back of your eye that provides central vision. Your central vision enables you to read, drive, use computers or smartphones, recognize faces and colors accurately as well as perform other activities requiring sharp visual acuity such as reading. Macular degeneration reduces this ability over time leading to blurry or darkened areas within central vision as well as blurry areas or spots within central vision; however it shouldn’t affect peripheral vision meaning you will still be able to drive and complete daily tasks such as threading needles with ease.

Dry age-related macular degeneration (DAMD) is the most prevalent form of macular degeneration. This form occurs when tiny yellow deposits known as drusen form beneath your retina; their size and number indicate which stage of DAMD you have; an eye doctor can detect drusen during a comprehensive dilated eye exam.

Wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is less common, but can be more severe. When abnormal blood vessels under your retina start leaking fluid, which gathers and lifts up the macula and distorts central vision – straight lines may become crooked or misshapen while blind spots may also appear.

If you notice any of these symptoms, consult your eye doctor as soon as possible. Early detection of macular degeneration is the key to slowing its progress. Your eye doctor may conduct an Amsler grid exam or use other tests like angiography or optical coherence tomography (OCT). In angiograpy, dye is injected into veins in your arm and photographs taken as it travels through blood vessels around your retina are taken; these pictures show whether there are new blood vessels forming beneath retina that could cause vision loss.

A small blind spot

The retina is a thin sheet of paper-thin tissue that covers the back of each eye, sending visual signals directly to your brain and being responsible for central vision as well as fine details like reading text in books or seeing someone’s face clearly. Central vision is made possible through a small area called the macula in the middle of one’s retina, and any damage to this area may lead to the development of a dark spot known as scotoma in one’s field of view. These symptoms of wet AMD may appear more quickly than dry AMD and include sudden black or gray smudges in the center of vision, blurry or distorted images when looking straight ahead, difficulty reading, faded colors that seem less vibrant, difficulty seeing straight lines like those found on an Amsler grid, as well as wavy or missing lines from your field of view.

People living with wet macular degeneration suffer from leaking blood vessels under the retina that allow fluid to build up in the macula and cause distortion of central vision. If this condition affects you, seek medical advice immediately as this could result in irreparable vision loss.

Your doctor will use eye drops to dilate, or widen, your pupils so they can better observe the back of your eye and the retina. They can look for abnormal blood vessels or fluid beneath the retina by injecting dye into a vein in your arm and taking photos as it travels through blood vessels; or use optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging technology instead to take images without dye.

Difficulty reading or driving

Are You Struggling With Reading or Driving? Macular Degeneration Could Be to Blame

Age-related macular degeneration occurs when there are changes to a small region at the back of your retina called the macula, leading to severe vision loss among Caucasians over age 65. There are various kinds of macular degeneration; dry macular degeneration is most prevalent; it occurs when macula thins as you get older and leads to blurriness or distortion in central vision.

Wet macular degeneration, the less prevalent but more serious form of macular degeneration, occurs when abnormal blood vessels form beneath the retina and leak fluid into it, leading to rapid central vision loss. Laser treatment and newer anti-angiogenic drugs work by targeting proteins responsible for stimulating abnormal blood vessel growth; Macugen is FDA-approved as one such medication; others with similar effects are currently under study.

Reduce your risk of macular degeneration by eating a diet rich in vegetables and taking vitamin supplements that contain antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin found in green vegetables like kale and raw spinach, or taking vitamins with them. It is also vital that regular eye exams take place so as to detect early signs of macular degeneration.

Loss of central vision

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) can cause central vision to decline over time, as its symptoms advance. This happens when the macula, a small area in the retina at the back of your eye which allows you to clearly perceive fine details, loses its functionality. Central vision may become blurry or darkened and feature distorted straight lines; however, peripheral vision remains undamaged by macular degeneration so you can still live a fulfilling lifestyle and do what’s important to you.

Macular degeneration begins as tiny yellow deposits known as drusen, which initially may not cause symptoms or be noticeable; but when they increase in size and number it could signal more advanced stages of macular degeneration. Your eye doctor can detect AMD by using special tools to examine your eyes; for example an Amsler Grid could help detect AMD. If its straight lines appear wavy or missing this could be an indicator that something has gone amiss within your vision system.

Macular degeneration cases account for 10% of cases overall, and about 10% are classified as wet AMD cases, where abnormal blood vessels begin to form beneath the retina, leaking blood and fluid, leading to blurry or distorted vision and leading to faster progression compared to dry AMD with greater loss of central vision.

There are various treatments for wet macular degeneration available, such as medication and laser therapy, that may help slow or reverse vision loss and even help improve vision in some instances. Early diagnosis increases your likelihood of being successful at making use of such therapies.