Age-related macular degeneration is the gradual breakdown of retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eye. It results in loss of central vision that makes daily activities such as reading, driving and threading needles difficult or impossible.

Early signs of macular degeneration include yellow deposits called drusen. Your doctor can spot them by observing your eyes with a chart of straight lines or performing fluorescein angiography – injecting dye and taking photographs while it passes through retinal blood vessels – to detect macular degeneration.

1. Blurred or hazy vision

Blurry vision is one of the hallmarks of macular degeneration, an eye condition which results in the breakdown of central vision – essential for tasks like threading a needle and reading – but doesn’t impact peripheral vision, or the ring of light around your outer edge that allows you to detect objects and people moving about in real-time. Even with blurry vision remaining, most patients still possess enough remaining sight to live independently.

Macular degeneration comes in two forms, dry macular degeneration (ARMD) and wet macular degeneration (AMD). In its early stages, dry AMD causes yellow spots known as drusen to form under your retina – these deposits don’t lead to vision loss directly; rather they show that disease progression. Your eye doctor can detect changes by conducting tests such as an Amsler grid test, eye exam and fluorescein angiography – an orange-red dye used to visualize blood vessels within your retina – to detect changes within your macula.

Your eye doctor may notice during a comprehensive dilated eye exam that straight lines appear wavy or that there’s a dark spot in the center of your field of vision, which are signs of wet AMD, where abnormal blood vessels form beneath your retina and leak fluid or blood.

These vessels can damage your macula, leading to an immediate decline in central vision. As your peripheral vision becomes increasingly necessary and straight objects become harder or impossible to recognize, medical assistance must be sought immediately as this condition can rapidly progress into blindness. If any of these symptoms apply to you it is vitally important that medical help be sought immediately as this disease could worsen quickly leading to blindness.

2. Dark spots

Macular degeneration of the eye is a prevalent condition that results in damage or breakdown to the macula, the small area in the retina at the back of your eye responsible for central vision – essential for reading, driving and recognising faces or colors. While macular degeneration does not lead to complete blindness, it can make certain activities difficult or impossible.

Macular degeneration is caused by the breakdown of light-sensitive cells known as macula in your retina. There are two forms of macular degeneration: dry and wet. Dry form macular degeneration is more commonly experienced, typically manifested as yellow protein deposits underneath your retina called drusen that don’t impair vision initially; however, later stages can result in dark spots appearing across your center visual field as the disease progresses.

Wet macular degeneration may be less prevalent, yet can be more serious as it causes rapid loss of central vision. Abnormal blood vessels form and leak fluid or blood into the retina resulting in distortion in straight-ahead vision and dark spots or wavy lines appearing as symptoms.

While macular degeneration does not have a cure, various treatments can reduce risk and slow its progression. Eating more fruits and vegetables and taking antioxidant-rich dietary supplements like those found in spinach, kale, broccoli and carrots is one way to do this. Lutein and zeaxanthin may help protect retinas against oxidative damage from oxygen; you may also find these two nutrients in food such as spinach kale broccoli carrots as sources.

3. Difficulty reading

Macular degeneration is one of the primary causes of severe vision loss among those over 50, impacting reading, driving, recognizing faces and colors and other daily activities such as driving. It affects the macula located at the back of each eye. Macular degeneration occurs either wet or dry depending on whether abnormal blood vessels form beneath the retina that leak blood or fluid; both types can eventually lead to blindness.

Dry macular degeneration symptoms include blurry central vision and distortion of straight lines, especially in dim lighting environments, making reading or driving difficult. Color saturation may become less vibrant as previously vibrant hues appear dull; people may also have difficulty recognising friends and family members at close distance. Most often, early stage dry macular degeneration causes no pain and does not advance quickly.

About 10% of cases of macular degeneration will progress to its wet form, leading to faster loss of vision. This type of disease occurs when abnormal blood vessels sprout under the retina and allow fluid or blood leakage into the macula, creating rapid blurring or distortion in central vision that can be extremely disconcerting.

As part of a regular preventative eye examination schedule, regular eye exams are crucial in catching disease early and treating it effectively. This is particularly essential if your family history increases your risk for the condition; other risk factors could include age, smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol or obesity which all put individuals at greater risk for this eye disease.

4. Loss of central vision

The macula is the light-sensitive tissue in your retina that allows you to clearly perceive fine details straight ahead. When its health begins to decline or break down, you may experience central vision loss while peripheral or side vision will still remain intact; as macular tissue degradation typically progresses at different rates in both eyes.

Macular degeneration often progresses without pain, making early stages easily overlooked. Regular eye exams with your physician should help detect early signs. Your eye doctor will use various instruments, including an Amsler grid chart. This grid’s pattern of straight lines can detect changes to the macula as well as identify drusen or pigment clumping; any instances in which these lines become wavy or disappear are an indicator that there may be macular degeneration present.

Dry macular degeneration results from natural wear-and-tear on the macula with age, as clumps of yellow protein called drusen form under the retina and start thinning and breaking down its structure over time. Depending on their size and location, symptoms of Dry Macular Degeneration range from none at all to blurry or hazy vision; you will still retain useful peripheral vision in both eyes while facial and color recognition remain normal.

About 90 percent of those suffering macular degeneration have the dry form, while approximately 10 percent have wet form macular degeneration, where abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak fluid, distorting central vision and leading to distortions. If left untreated, wet macular degeneration can quickly progress into severe vision loss.

5. Blind spots

Macular degeneration refers to deterioration or breakdown of the macula – a small area in your retina at the back of your eye that allows you to clearly see fine details for activities like reading and driving. When this area no longer functions as it should, your central vision can become impaired with blurriness, dark areas or distortion affecting it in ways such as blurriness, dark areas or distortion, making it hard or impossible to see objects straight ahead such as clocks or people faces, while disrupting activities which require focus such as threading needle or driving.

There are two forms of macular degeneration: dry and wet. Dry macular degeneration is by far the more prevalent form, occurring when tiny yellow protein deposits known as drusen accumulate beneath your retina and begin obstructing central vision over time. While dry forms do reduce peripheral vision as well, dry forms only reduce central vision by a fraction.

In wet macular degeneration, abnormal blood vessels begin to form beneath the retina and leak fluid and blood, blurring or distorting central vision. If wet macular degeneration becomes evident in your eyesight, it’s essential to seek medical advice immediately and contact an eye care provider immediately.

macular degeneration risk factors include age, family history, ethnicity/race, smoking, high cholesterol/blood pressure levels, obesity and diets low in fruits and vegetables. Cataracts and glaucoma also increase your likelihood of macular degeneration; regular eye exams with early detection could slow its progress significantly.