My Experience with Macular Degeneration

I first discovered my experience with Macular Degeneration while driving back from work. I found that there was a significant loss of vision and my ability to see traffic was hindered. I became concerned about the dangers of Macular Degeneration. It is a condition where you can become blind. I knew that I had needed to be treated. I had to find out what this condition really was. It is an eye disease where age related symptoms begin to develop. People who are over 60 are the most likely to develop this disease. Age is the leading cause of severe vision loss. There are two different types of Macular Degeneration.

There is the wet and the dry form of macular degeneration. The dry form may lead to a dimming or distortion of vision that comes to notice when people read. In the macula, is a yellow deposit called drusen, which is increased causing the loss of vision. Leading up to atrophy, is the thinning of the light sensitive cells which is an advanced stage of dry macular degeneration. Patients may lose central vision having blind spots in the center of their vision.

Underneath the macula is the growth of abnormal blood vessels from the choroids which is a form of wet macular degeneration. Blood and fluid begins to leak into the retina, which causes the distortion of vision. Straight lines begin to look wavy, as well as blind spots and loss of central vision. It even begins to scar, which can lead to permanent vision loss. How was I diagnosed for this condition?

During an eye exam, drops are placed in your eyes to enlarge or dilate the pupils and the ophthalmologist carefully examines the central portion of the retina, determining what all is present or absent. An Amsler grid is used during eye exam, which is also known as a checkerboard. This is where diagnostic tests are performed. Tests are performed to see whether I have wet or dry macular degeneration. If it is wet macular degeneration, it may be treated with laser surgery, photodynamic therapy, or injections into the eye. Photodynamic uses a drug called verteporfin, which is injected into the vein of the arm. The dry form is usually lived without any form of treatment except for vitamins. As you get older, taking high dosages of antioxidants and zinc may significantly reduce the risk of advanced AMD or vision loss.

Blurred vision is the main symptom of this disease, which may make it harder to read or drive. The dry form may lead to wet AMD by the leaking of blood vessels gathering within and lifting the macula. Having this kind of distorted vision can make it hard to gather information while reading, keeping up on time, and enjoying day to day activities. It is always important to keep track on how your eye sight is doing. Going to a doctor helps to prevent such diseases and receive treatment when needed. As you get older, it is important to read about such diseases to discover if you have any of its symptoms. The older you are the more of a chance there is of being diagnosed with macular degeneration.