Macular degeneration refers to any condition where the macula in your eye deteriorates or breaks down, causing blurriness, dark areas or distortion in central vision. It may cause blurriness, dark areas or distortion which is accompanied by blurriness or dark areas forming within it.

Early symptoms may include blurry vision that worsens over time and straight lines appearing crooked. Your eye care professional may use eye drops to dilate your pupils and may ask you to look at a grid pattern of straight lines to check your vision.

1. Blurred or hazy vision

Age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD, is an eye disease that causes your central vision to blur. It occurs when the macula in your retina – the layer at the back of your eye that sends light signals directly to the brain for seeing – breaks down, creating blurry central vision which makes reading, driving and other activities that require sharp straight-ahead sight difficult. Although macular degeneration doesn’t lead to total blindness, you might require additional lighting, have difficulty recognising faces or colors or see straight lines appear wavy or distorted.

Macular degeneration comes in two varieties, dry and wet. In the former form, yellow deposits known as drusen form under your retina without causing symptoms until they grow larger, when central vision may blur significantly. Over time however, macular degeneration progresses into its wetter form where abnormal blood vessels start growing beneath your retina leaking blood and fluid to rapidly reduce central vision loss.

Your doctor can detect macular degeneration by conducting an Amsler grid exam on both eyes. This grid contains straight lines resembling a checkerboard pattern, and any deviations or distortion of these straight lines may signal macular changes. Your eye doctor might ask you to examine one during a routine eye exam and note any wavy, distorted, or missing straight lines; additionally they may test fluid samples from both eyes for signs of macular degeneration before suggesting further testing as soon as it has been identified.

2. Changes in your central vision

The central part of your retina – which is light-sensitive lining on the back of the eyeball that sends detailed images directly to your brain for clear vision – sends detailed images that allow you to see straight ahead. However, when the cells in your macular deteriorate and your central vision diminishes over time, reading, driving or recognising faces become difficult; straight objects like telephone poles or venetian blinds appear crookedly as straight vision is reduced or lost altogether; but macular degeneration rarely leads to complete blindness – peripheral or side vision remains intact and peripheral vision remains intact.

Early signs of macular degeneration usually manifest themselves in yellowish deposits called drusen under your retina, often without causing vision changes at first. But as more drusen forms and they expand over time, they can gradually lead to loss of central vision.

Around 10% of macular degeneration cases fall under the wet form, in which abnormal blood vessels form under the retina and leak fluid or blood, blurring or distorting your central vision. Although less prevalent than its dry counterpart, wet macular degeneration typically causes faster and more noticeable vision loss.

If you notice early symptoms of macular degeneration, it’s essential that you visit an eye doctor regularly for examination and testing – including vision tests such as an Amsler grid. They may also administer dye injections in your arm and take photographs of your retina in order to search for fluid or blood under the macula; another process known as optical coherence tomography (OCT) uses an infrared camera to create detailed images without using dye injections or photographs of retina.

3. Drusen or pigment clumps

When the macula breaks down, it impedes central vision, straight lines, and the ability to perceive colors clearly. There are two types of macular degeneration – dry and wet. With dry macular degeneration, tiny yellow protein clumps called drusen start growing beneath the retina and thin it out, potentially leading to abnormal blood vessels which leak blood or fluid underneath – leading to wet macular degeneration which may eventually cause blindness.

Dry AMD begins as small yellow deposits known as drusen or “drusen,” visible on color fundus photographs, beneath the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). At this early stage, patients may not experience any visible symptoms; nonetheless it is wise to seek regular exams so as to monitor your eye and potentially stop the progression of AMD.

As AMD progresses, its symptoms will worsen: the drusen will grow larger and harder while becoming closer together and less distinct in appearance. Fluorescein angiography may reveal that they begin fading in color – an indicator of potential wet macular degeneration development later.

Wet macular degeneration occurs during the advanced stages of dry AMD. It occurs when abnormal blood vessels start growing abnormally and leak fluid and blood beneath the retina, causing damage and scarring, before eventually bleeding and closing off completely, resulting in severe central vision loss and the need for immediate medical care. It is the most serious form of macular degeneration and requires urgent medical intervention.

4. Blind spots

Your macula is responsible for central vision. However, when its cells begin to degenerate due to macular degeneration, a blind spot may form. This makes reading, driving or seeing people approaching difficult. In its early stages this blind spot may remain small; as your condition worsens it may grow larger and become noticeable to you.

Blind spots occur when nerves in damaged areas of your eye fail to send visual information to your brain, similar to when you forget where you parked your car or lose track during a running race.

Macular degeneration typically only impacts the central part of your vision and does not interfere with peripheral or side vision. Even so, it is wise to conduct periodic vision checks using an Amsler grid, which helps identify changes that could indicate wet form macula degeneration characterized by leaky blood vessels beneath it.

As part of your strategy to protect against macular degeneration, quitting smoking, consuming less saturated fat and increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids, exercising regularly, and visiting your eye care professional on an annual basis are all effective measures that will lower your risk. Your eye care provider may suggest low dose treatment with vitamins C & E or other antioxidants in order to slow progression of this condition.

5. Loss of central vision

The macula of your retina, commonly referred to as its center area, provides central vision. When its health deteriorates due to macular degeneration eye disease, straight lines may appear broken or wavy and your ability to perceive color may decrease – although this doesn’t necessarily indicate legal blindness; simply that some tasks such as driving, reading, and recognising faces become harder for you to complete.

Macular degeneration reduces your central vision, while usually having no adverse effect on peripheral (side) vision. This is because peripheral vision still serves a useful function; even though you may notice distortion of narrow vertical objects like telephone poles and trees, its functions will continue to function even if less clearly. For instance, you will still be able to recognize clock faces despite needing assistance from others.

90 percent of those diagnosed with macular degeneration experience dry AMD, which is characterized by tissue thinning and the formation of drusen. Dry AMD may progress to wet AMD when abnormal blood vessels grow and begin leaking blood and fluid into retinal tissue, leading to retinal damage much more severely than dry AMD.

Routine medical eye examinations can detect early signs of macular degeneration, allowing treatment options such as beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, dietary supplements and laser therapies to slow its progress or mitigate its severity. Furthermore, newer drugs targeting proteins that contribute to abnormal blood vessel growth (Macugen, Avastin and Lucentis) have recently become available as potential solutions.