| If you notice any of the following symptoms...GET | | | | In "Dry" AMD the Choroid which lies behind the |
| TO A DOCTOR | | | | retina, and contains its blood supply. Becomes |
| - Reduced visual acuity (blurred vision) Difficulty | | | | obstructed by "cellular debris" called Drusen. Which |
| distinguishing faces or doing any other activity | | | | are like little yellow deposits that can dislodge the |
| which requires fine vision. | | | | retina in places, causing partial vision loss. |
| - Poor colour vision. Including the need for | | | | Wet AMD Is more rare but is far more serious. It |
| increased illumination, sensitivity to glare, and | | | | accounts for only 10-15% of AMD cases, but |
| decreased night vision. | | | | 80% of severe vision loss. |
| - Distortion Straight lines may appear wavy or | | | | Wet Age related macular eye disease is caused |
| bent. For example, tiles in the bathroom appear | | | | by abnormal formation of new blood vessels in |
| wavy or window frames are not straight. | | | | the Choroid. These become thin and leak. Building |
| - Blind spots Dark patches or empty spaces can | | | | up pressure and killing areas of the retina. |
| appear in the centre of your vision. | | | | Its believed that Wet AMD is closely linked to |
| It's possible that you may be in the early stages | | | | smoking, and high fat intake, |
| of Age related macular eye disease or AMD | | | | Although it can't be cured, parts of the retina |
| AMD stands for Atrophic Macular Degeneration. It | | | | which have been damaged can't be repaired. Wet |
| is the leading cause of middle aged vision loss in | | | | Amd can be treated by injections or Laser |
| the western world. | | | | therapy. But it must be caught at an early stage. |
| THERE IS NO CURE for AMD. | | | | Although very serious AMD won't make you |
| AMD is a degeneration of the macula. Which is the | | | | completely blind. |
| central part of the retina, at the back of your | | | | The area of the macular is only about 5% of the |
| eye.responsible for fine, detailed central-visual | | | | total retina, and controls about 35% of our visual |
| tasks such as reading. | | | | ability. Unfortunately it's the bit in the middle. It |
| Often in the early stages you wont realise you | | | | takes quite a bit of getting used to, but like most |
| have it. Especially if you only have it in one eye, | | | | things, you can learn to live with it. |
| as the other healthy eye can compensate for any | | | | The important bit is to diagnose it early, so you |
| loss of vision. | | | | can do some damage limitation. |
| There are two types of AMD 'Wet and 'Dry' | | | | |