Retina
What is age related macular degeneration?
Age related macular degeneration is damage to the macula, the centre of the retina, in later life. The dry form progresses slowly and causes gradual difficulty with reading and faces. The wet form involves leaking new blood vessels and can reduce central vision within weeks, so it needs urgent assessment. Side vision is not lost.
Dry and wet AMD
In dry AMD, deposits build up under the macula and its cells slowly thin. Reading becomes harder, more light is needed, and over years a patch of blurring may develop at the centre of vision.
In wet AMD, fragile new vessels grow under the macula and leak fluid or blood. Vision distorts and drops quickly. Straight lines such as door frames look bent or wavy, which is often the first thing people notice.
Risk factors
- Age, usually over fifty
- Smoking, the strongest changeable risk factor
- A family history of macular degeneration
- High blood pressure and a diet low in fresh vegetables and fruit
Treatment and support
Wet AMD is treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections, which reduce leakage and often stabilise vision. Treatment usually continues over a long period with regular scans. Dry AMD has no injection treatment, and care focuses on stopping smoking, controlling blood pressure, a diet rich in green vegetables, and magnification and lighting to make reading easier.
Standard Eye Specialist Hospital provides macular assessment with optical coherence tomography and intravitreal injection treatment, together with optical advice on magnifiers and lighting.
When to seek urgent assessment
- New distortion of straight lines, or a new blurred or blank patch at the centre of vision, which needs assessment within days
- A rapid drop in reading vision over days to weeks
Frequently asked questions
- Will I go completely blind from AMD?
- AMD affects central vision. It does not usually take away side vision, so people retain the ability to move about, though reading and recognising faces can become difficult.
- Do supplements help?
- Specific eye vitamin formulations may slow progression in certain patterns of AMD. Ask your ophthalmologist whether they apply to your eyes before buying any supplement.
Concerned about these symptoms?
Arrange an eye examination with our consultant ophthalmologist in Garki, Abuja.
Care at Standard Eye
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