Macular degeneration affects your central vision, the ability to see straight ahead. At first it may go undetected as no symptoms may appear at all.

Disorder characterized by a breakdown of the macula’s light-sensing cells resulting in blindness for people over 50 in the United States. Signs and symptoms may include dark or empty areas appearing centrally within your field of vision.

1. Drusen

Early stage macular degeneration results in yellow spots known as drusen that do not typically threaten vision but do increase your risk for advanced dry AMD or wet AMD.

Wet age-related macular degeneration (WAMD) is an especially serious form of macular degeneration. It occurs when abnormal blood vessels form under the retina and begin leaking blood and fluid into it, damaging macula cells faster than dry macular degeneration does and leading to rapid vision loss faster. WAMD accounts for roughly 10% of cases of severe visual loss caused by macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD or AMD), also referred to as macular atrophy (MA), affects the macula in the central part of your retina and controls central or straight ahead vision, such as reading, driving and seeing fine details clearly. While healthy diet and regular eye exams cannot completely prevent macular degeneration from progressing further, regular exams and diet can slow its progress significantly.

Macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of blindness among Americans over 60; with proper care and treatment, however, you can protect your vision and maintain quality of life.

February is National Macular Degeneration and Low Vision Awareness Month, so our goal is to raise awareness about its symptoms and risk factors so people can get assistance early on in order to protect their vision.

Age-related macular degeneration risk depends on an individual’s age and family history of the condition, in addition to factors like smoking, high cholesterol levels and obesity that increase its likelihood.

Your doctor can assess how far macular degeneration has advanced during an eye exam. Early-stage AMD, defined by drusen and pigment epithelial cells that have gone into sleep mode, progresses to intermediate AMD with multiple medium-sized and large drusen; finally advanced AMD includes vision-threatening geographic atrophy or exudative macular degeneration (commonly referred to as wet AMD) in both eyes.

2. Changes in Vision

The macula is a small spot located within your retina that enables you to see fine details clearly. When damaged due to age-related macular degeneration, however, objects become blurry or straight lines may seem bent; while this won’t cause complete blindness it may make everyday tasks such as driving and reading more challenging if not treated promptly. If you notice difficulty doing these activities it’s essential that you visit a physician immediately for a dilated eye exam.

Macular degeneration affects the macula, a tiny portion of retina lining the back of your eye. The macula provides central vision that enables reading, driving and seeing faces; fine details like threading a needle or writing on restaurant menus also depend on it for clarity. Over time, macular degeneration slowly destroys sharp central vision but does not impair peripheral (side) vision; eventually as this disease progresses further it could jeopardise daily activities such as work.

There are two forms of macular degeneration: dry and wet. The former form is more prevalent; it occurs when the macula deteriorates and begins to thin, leading to the development of drusen beneath the retina. Meanwhile, wet macular degeneration occurs less often but more rapidly: abnormal blood vessels form beneath retina that leak fluid or blood, disrupting central vision and damaging it further.

Macular degeneration cannot be avoided altogether, but there are steps you can take to slow its progression. These include maintaining a healthy weight, eating diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, taking vitamin C supplements regularly and engaging in regular physical activity. Furthermore, smoking limits how much oxygen reaches your eyes which increases risk for macular degeneration as does excessive sun exposure; other risk factors for macular degeneration include high blood pressure, cholesterol and previous heart attacks or strokes.

3. Blurred Vision

Blurry vision is often an early telltale sign of age-related macular degeneration, which gradually wears away at sharp central vision used for seeing faces and driving, reading or handcrafts, etc. Distortions caused by blurred vision may worsen over time and lead to blind spots in your field of view, known as central scotomas; luckily this generally only affects central vision while color perception remains unaffected.

Macular degeneration causes blurriness by altering the retina, the paper-thin layer lining the back of your eye. Changes include deposits known as drusen under the retina and loss of healthy pigment cells from retinal pigment epithelium lining the retina – as the disease progresses it may even form abnormal blood vessels underneath your retina which leak or bleed and distort vision causing macular edema – leading to dizzying distortion of vision called macular edema.

Wet macular degeneration is an even more severe medical condition than its dry counterpart, marked by drusen formation and macula thinning, that can quickly lead to rapid and severe loss of straight-ahead vision. The wet form is marked by abnormal, leaky blood vessels growing under retina near macula which leads to distortion or blind spots called “scotomas.”

Blurred vision can be caused by various health conditions, such as uveitis (eye inflammation), psoriasis, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. Sometimes medication or diet can help correct this blurriness; other times the condition must be managed via surgery or hospitalization.

An annual eye exam can detect AMD early, before symptoms are apparent. Your eye doctor will ask you to view an Amsler grid chart wearing reading glasses; if any straight lines appear wavy or missing from the grid it could be an indicator that macular degeneration has advanced further. They may also use optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology to see whether new blood vessels have formed underneath your retina and whether or not any are leaking fluid into it.

4. Vision Loss

Macular degeneration affects the central part of your retina called the macula, compromising your ability to see straight lines, read, drive a car safely, recognize faces and notice fine details. Though severe vision loss may result from this disease, most cases do not result in complete blindness. AMD usually affects both eyes, although in later stages it may become more evident in one. There are two types of macular degeneration: dry and wet. Wet macular degeneration develops when abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the retina and leak fluid and blood through small leakage sites beneath it; this fluid interferes with how macula functions leading to blurred vision; wet macular degeneration can result in quicker and more severe vision loss compared to its dry counterpart.

Risks associated with macular degeneration increase as you age and take into account family history factors, as well as factors like smoking, high cholesterol/triglyceride levels or having experienced a stroke/heart attack.

Most individuals with AMD suffer from dry forms, in which yellow deposits of fatty protein known as drusen build up beneath the retina and eventually damage light-sensitive cells of the macula. Most individuals suffering from dry AMD don’t experience symptoms until undergoing a comprehensive eye exam with dilation.

Your doctor may use several tests to detect changes in your macula, including Amsler Grid analysis and optical coherence tomography (OCT), whereby they inject harmless orange-red dye into one vein in your arm, then take pictures as the dye circulates through all your blood vessels – this test enables doctors to see whether new blood vessels are growing or leaking fluid underneath your retina.

Studies have indicated that diets rich in certain vitamins and minerals, particularly antioxidants, may slow the progression of macular degeneration; however, its exact impact cannot yet be assessed.