One of the sad things about growing older is that you are more prone to certain chronic diseases. One of the most devastating is Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) because it affects your eyesight and how you get around in the world. And, as you well know, you depend on your eyes for almost everything you do in life.
The disease greatly affects your central vision, often with blind spots and blurring. You use your central vision for simple things like reading, knitting and driving your car. When your central vision is diminished in any way, you find yourself depending more and more on others. The macula is the portion of your eye that the disease attacks and when macular degeneration strikes, it is difficult for you to perform any type of detail work. The disease, however, is relatively pain free so it sometimes difficult to realize that you indeed have it.
AMD progresses at different rates for different people. Sometimes it takes many years for the disease to show any symptoms. Other times, it advances quickly and causes vision loss in both eyes. It generally strikes people who are over the age of 50 but can strike anyone – at any age.
The macula in your eye can be found right in the center of your retina. Your retina is located at the very back of your eye and is very sensitive to light. This is where images are changed into electrical impulses that are sent to your brain. When the macula is compromised by wet or dry AMD, your vision deteriorates.
Wet Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is caused when the blood vessels located at the back of the retina start to grow underneath the retina. These blood vessels often bleed or expel other fluids into the macula which then changes its position in your eye. When this happens, damage can be very quick in one or both your eyes. On the other hand, dry AMD is caused when certain cells in your macula that are sensitive to light begin to deteriorate. The process is usually gradual and often causes blind spots in your central vision. Dry AMD can occur on one or both of your eyes.
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