Age Related Macular Degeneration

Occurring much less frequently, wet AMD happens when abnormal blood vessels start to grow beneath the retina, leaking fluid and blood into the surrounding area. Since this fluid backup can cause distortion, wet AMD is much more dangerous.

Wet macular degeneration always begins with dry AMD. But dry AMD does not always lead to wet AMD. (Dry AMD does not mean dry eyes; the name just indicates that wet AMD is not present.)

One of the main differences is that symptoms of dry AMD come on gradually, if they’re noticed at all, while symptoms of wet AMD appear suddenly — although they may be preceded by symptoms of dry AMD.

Signs and symptoms of dry AMD, include the following:

• Smudges or dark spots appear in your vision, especially in the morning
• Colors appear faded
• Bright lights are irritating
• You have difficulty adjusting your vision when you go from dark to light environments
• Straight lines appear to bend
• When you read, words tend to disappear

• Straight lines appear to bend.
• You have blurry central vision or a blind spot anywhere in your field of vision.
• You have difficulty adjusting your vision when you go from dark to light environments.
• You have difficulty seeing fine detail without a very bright light.
• You experience trouble with face recognition.

Both types are diagnosed by using tests that can reveal changes in the macula and retina. Such tests include:

• Visual field test: You will be asked to look at a grid of straight lines with a dot in the middle, called an Amsler grid, to see if any lines look wavy or broken, and if the center dot is obscured.
• Eye exam with dilation: Your doctor will put drops in your eyes that widen your pupils, then observe your retina using a special lens.
• Fluorescein angiography: After injecting a yellow dye called fluorescein into a vein in your arm, your doctor can observe the dye as it travels through blood vessels in the eye, revealing any macula leakage.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT): This diagnostic tool takes photos of the back of the eye, including the retina and macula. No dye or other medication is necessary.
• Optical coherence tomography angiography: Using the OCT device, this imaging method uses laser light reflection in place of fluorescein to produce 3D images of blood flow through the eye.