Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

What is Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Age related macular degeneration is an eye disease related to aging. The disease causes you to lose your central vision, which is the part of your vision that allows you to see objects clearly and do daily tasks like reading and driving.

There are two main types of AMD:

• Dry AMD. People with this type lose their vision slowly. This is the most common type of AMD. Some people with dry AMD notice very little change in their vision as they age.
• Wet AMD. People with this type lose their vision quickly.

What are the causes?

This condition is caused by damage to the part of the eye that provides you with central vision (macula). Dry AMD happens when deposits in the macula cause light-sensitive cells to slowly break down. Wet AMD happens when abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula and leak blood and fluid.

What increases the risk?

The following factors may make you more likely to develop this condition:

• Being 50 years old or older.
• Smoking.
• Being obese.
• Having a family history of AMD.
• Having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or heart disease.
• Having been exposed to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) light and blue light.
• Being white (Caucasian).
• Being female.

What are the signs or symptoms?

Symptoms of this condition include:

• Blurred vision, especially when reading print material. The blurred vision often goes away in brighter light.
• A blurred or blind spot in the center of your field of vision that is small but growing larger.
• Bright colors seeming less bright than they used to be.
• Decreased ability to recognize faces.
• One eye seeming worse than the other.
• Decreased ability to adapt to dimly lit rooms.
• Straight lines appearing crooked or wavy.

How is this diagnosed?

This condition is diagnosed based on your symptoms and an eye exam. During the eye exam, eye drops will be placed in your eyes to enlarge (dilate) your pupils. This will allow your health care provider to see the back of your eye better. You may be asked to look at an image that looks like a checkerboard (Amsler grid). Early changes in your central vision may cause the grid to look distorted.

After the exam, you may be given a test called a fluorescein angiogram. This test determines whether you have dry or wet AMD. During this test, dye is injected into a vein and pictures are taken as the dye travels through your eye.

How is this treated?

There is no cure for this condition, but treatment can help slow down how fast it gets worse. Treatment may include:

• Supplements, including vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, and zinc.
• Laser surgery to destroy new blood vessels or leaking blood vessels in your eye.
• Injections of medicines into your eye to slow down the formation of abnormal blood vessels that might leak. These injections are given by a health care provider.

Follow these instructions at home:

• Get an eye exam as often told by your health care provider. Make sure to get an eye exam at least once every year.
• Take vitamins and supplements as told by your health care provider.
• Take over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your health care provider.
• Ask your health care provider for an Amsler grid, and use it every day to check each eye for vision changes.
• Keep all follow-up visits as told by your health care provider. This is important.

Contact a health care provider if:

• You notice any new changes in your vision.