Macular Degeneration does not make you blind!

Macular Degeneration does not make you blind!

This picture shows a bleed in the macula surrounding a pinkish elevated area in the centre. This is how a typical wet macular degeneration looks. In this condition a membrane called choroidal neovascular membrane grows under the the retina through breaks in the Bruch’s membrane. This membrane causes bleeding and fluid collection under the retina.

The symptoms are sudden blurring of vision with appearance of a black spot in the centre. The patient can experience distortion of central vision, difficulty reading or even a dramatic loss in central vision.

Patients with pre-existing dry macular degeneration are more prone to develop wet macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration however is not a blinding condition. Patients are often worried about becoming blind. The reason is that this affects only the centre of the retina or the macula. The rest of the retina is good. So, the patient will have good peripheral vision throughout life.

Unfortunately many cases of macular degeneration have undetected glaucoma. If this happens, peripheral vision is also lost. Hence it is very important that every patient with macular degeneration goes to a specialist to rule out glaucoma. Certain tests can be done every year to rule out glaucoma like intraocular pressure, visual fields and OCT.