Eye on AMD™ —

On your side against MACULAR DEGENERATION

Aging Eyes or Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)?

Some vision problems can be a normal part of getting older. You may notice difficulty reading smaller print, or maybe you can't see as well at night as you once could. Many of these symptoms are simply the result of aging and less effective eye muscles. They can often be corrected with:

• Prescription glasses or contacts
• Over-the-counter reading glasses
• Changes in driving habits
• Different choices of lighting

Other symptoms may indicate a more serious condition and you should see your eye doctor to get referral to a retina specialist immediately.

While aging eye symptoms may include the following:

• Blurry or cloudy vision
• Straight lines appearing bent or curved
• Difficulty seeing at night
• Requiring brighter lights to read or work
• Eye pressure or pain, associated headaches
• Double vision
• Noticing fewer differences between colors

A few conditions, such as the need for increasingly bright light when reading, colors that seem washed out and dull, and a gradual haziness of your overall vision, may be symptoms of a disease called age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

There are 2 main types of AMD — dry and wet. All cases of AMD begin as the dry form, and some cases will develop into the wet form. Dry AMD is much more common and generally develops more slowly than wet AMD. If left untreated, both forms of AMD can damage the part of the eye that is responsible for the center of your vision, often resulting in a blind spot. If AMD develops in 1 eye only, the vision changes may be less noticeable. Due to the rapid progression of the disease and potential blindness that can occur, it's important to get a diagnosis and treatment as quickly as possible. In fact, wet AMD is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S. for people 60 and older.

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), it is also important to have your eyes checked at least annually after age 60, or earlier if you are at a higher risk of developing eye disease. If you believe you have AMD, but have not been diagnosed, it's important to ask for a referral to an Ophthalmologist and/or retina specialist who can treat a condition of the retina. A retina specialist is a medical doctor trained as an ophthalmologist. However, they have received additional fellowship training in diseases and surgery of the retina.