Macular degeneration is the gradual breakdown of your macula at the back of your eye, leading to blurriness, dark spots, and distortion of straight lines. For testing purposes such as an Amsler grid or fluorescein angiography (injecting dye into your arm and taking photographs of how your retina responds), seeing a doctor is essential.

Blurred or hazy vision

Blurry or hazy vision is one of the hallmarks of macular degeneration, caused by damage to your macula (the small area at the center of your retina that allows you to see fine details and straight ahead). When this happens, central vision may become blurry or hazy making reading, driving and other daily tasks difficult – however macular degeneration typically only reduces central vision instead of side or peripheral vision.

Blurred vision can also be an indicator of other diseases such as multiple sclerosis – an incurable neurological condition affecting the optic nerve – or Parkinson’s disease, in which brain activity interferes with sending clear signals to eyes. Furthermore, blurred vision could indicate inflammation or excess fluid accumulation within eyes that should be evaluated by your physician.

Macular degeneration happens gradually over time and in its initial and intermediate stages do not typically produce noticeable symptoms. However, doctors can detect thinning retina and tiny yellow deposits known as drusen under the retina through dilated eye examination.

At its later stage, wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels form beneath the retina and damage its macula, leading to sudden vision loss or distortions that appear like straight lines that appear wavy. An opthamologist may help slow its progression by injecting certain medications or performing other procedures like photodynamic therapy; these treatments could prevent central vision loss from worsening further and may even help improve some cases of wet macular degeneration.

Difficulty seeing fine detail

Macular degeneration affects the central part of your retina (the lining at the back of your eyeball). Your macula collects detailed images that travel directly from your retina to your brain, so if this area deteriorates you may find it harder to perceive fine detail or objects straight ahead may appear blurry; your peripheral vision (side and bottom of vision) may remain clear and dark spots or distortion of geometric shapes may also become evident in your field of view.

Macular degeneration usually manifests itself through gradual loss of central vision in one or both eyes, impairing driving, reading and other tasks that rely on clear central vision – such as driving or performing tasks such as performing calculations with numbers. Macular degeneration is a progressive disease which worsens over time – so if you begin experiencing difficulty seeing fine details it’s wise to contact your physician right away for treatment.

Your doctor will perform a dilated eye exam to look for signs of macular degeneration. He or she will look for yellow deposits under your retina called “drusen”, which are small protein clusters. If there are many drusen present, that increases your risk for advanced AMD.

Fluorescein angiography or optical coherence tomography (OCT) exams may also be needed to diagnose macular degeneration. Here, a doctor injects harmless dye into your arm vein before taking photos of how the dye flows through your blood vessels – these tests may detect new blood vessels or leaky vessels causing macular degeneration.

Dark spots

Macular degeneration, which results in central vision loss, may be a telltale sign of macular degeneration. Macular degeneration usually affects one eye initially but may progress to both over time; symptoms include distortion in straight lines or trouble recognizing faces; unlike some forms of vision loss that also impact peripheral (side) vision, macular degeneration does not impact it directly.

Macular degeneration usually progresses without symptoms in its early and intermediate stages, making regular eye exams vitally important. Your eye doctor can detect changes to your macula such as yellow deposits under your retina known as drusen or pigment clumping that could indicate macular degeneration. An Amsler grid chart can also be used to detect distortion of straight lines, and an OCT test called angiography or optical coherence tomography OCT may also help detect blood vessels beneath the retina. At this test, your doctor will inject harmless dye into a vein in your arm and take pictures as it travels toward blood vessels in your macula. These pictures can show whether new blood vessels have grown beneath your retina and leak fluid and/or blood, providing valuable insight.

If you notice any of the signs above, arrange to visit Rowan Eye Center immediately for a comprehensive eye exam. Researchers have linked eye-nourishing nutrients like lutein/zeaxanthin, vitamins C and E and zinc with slowing macular degeneration progression; additionally it’s wise to avoid smoking and high cholesterol to lower your risk.

Unusual vision patterns

Macular degeneration affects the central part of your retina, the light-sensitive lining inside of your eye that relays images to your brain. Macular degeneration begins as cells in the macula deteriorate and cannot receive clear images from their source, meaning straight lines appear crooked or wavy. Macular degeneration may result from age or from dry macular degeneration – when tissues in the macula thin due to dry macular degeneration; dry macular degeneration also results in yellow deposits underneath your retina called drusen forming underneath.

Wet AMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels begin growing beneath the macula and leak fluid into the retina, leading to distortions in vision as well as loss of central and detailed vision, eventually culminating in a dark spot that slowly expands across your field of vision.

Both types of macular degeneration may be helped by eating more antioxidant-rich fruits, vegetables and dark leafy greens containing lutein and zeaxanthin which may protect against oxygen-charged molecules that damage eyesight. Macular degeneration treatments include nutritional supplements designed to slow it. An eye care professional can spot early signs by looking into your eyes and using drops to dilate the pupils, and looking at your eye chart. They may use an Amsler grid chart to detect changes to your central vision, and may use non-invasive OCT angiography or fundus fluorescein angiography tests which help detect any bleeding or leakage of new blood vessels beneath the retina associated with wet macular degeneration.

Loss of central vision

Macular degeneration causes central vision to diminish over time, because the macula, a small area in the retina at the back of your eye, becomes damaged. Central vision is essential for seeing fine detail, driving safely, reading quickly and recognizing faces – losing this crucial ability can make all these activities harder or impossible to perform and lead to straight lines appearing wavy or distorted; it generally does not affect peripheral (side) vision and you typically retain at least some of it.

Macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of severe vision loss among people over age 50, occurs when there are changes to a small area called the macula in the retina. It causes difficulties seeing details clearly straight ahead, potentially leading to blindness over time.

Macular degeneration comes in two forms – dry and wet macular degeneration. Early symptoms for both include blurry distance and central vision as well as dark spots near your center of vision. Meanwhile, wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath your retina, leaking blood and fluid, leading to rapid progression of vision loss.

Macular degeneration can be prevented in several ways, such as eating foods rich in lutein and zeaxanthin – nutrients found in fruits and vegetables like kale and raw spinach, nutritional supplements that contain these compounds, laser treatments or laser photocoagulation can all be effective solutions if caught early enough; consult with your physician on all available treatment options to you for AMD.