Age Related Macular Degeneration
There are two types of Age Related Macular Degeneration, Dry and Wet.
Dry Age Related Macular Degeneration
The macular is the part of the retina with which we get our detailed central vision. The macula area has a very high metabolic rate and as we get older waste products can begin to be left under the macula forming what are called drusen, when you are shown your retinal photo these show up as yellow spots. These yellow spots can sometimes coalesce together and areas of the macula can die off and degenerate, this happens very gradually over many years.
Drusen at the Macula of the eye
There is no treatment for dry ARMD however there is some evidence that certain vitamins and eating green vegetables can reduce the rate of progression.
Example of Vitamins thought to help reduce the progression of ARMD
Wet Age Related Macular Degeneration
Sometimes the eye responds to the degeneration by producing new blood vessels under the macula these blood vessels are leaky and they may cause a leak of fluid or a bleed under the retina. This can lead to sudden loss of vision and/or your vision may look wavy.
Wet ARMD, in this case blood can be seen under the macula
With wet ARMD vision be missing or look wavy
If this happens it is important to contact us so we can refer you or your ophthalmologist as soon as possible as there is a treatment that needs to be given quite soon. The treatment may involve an injection of a drug into the eye by an ophthalmologist that stops the new vessels from growing and leaking. Wet ARMD is the leading cause of blindness in the United Kingdom.
If we suspect ARMD we may advice you to have an OCT performed which takes a picture with a laser of the layers of the retina and shows up any fluid underneath.
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A normal OCT on the left and a WET armd OCT on the right
We may also ask you to look at an Amsler chart – a chart of horizontal and vertical lines to see if any of them are wavy. We may also give you an amsler chart to take home and look at with each eye once a week.
The Amsler chart