What is dry Age-related Macular Degeneration?
Dry AMD occurs when the light-sensitive cells in the macula slowly break down, gradually blurring central vision in the affected eye. As dry AMD gets worse, you may see a blurred spot in the center of your vision. Over time, as less of the macula functions, central vision in the affected eye can be lost gradually. The most common symptom of dry Age-related Macular Degeneration is slightly blurred vision. You may have difficulty recognizing faces. You may need more light for reading and other tasks. Dry AMD generally affects both eyes, but vision can be lost in one eye while the other eye seems unaffected. One of the most common early signs of dry AMD is drusen. Drusen are yellow deposits under the retina. They often are found in people over age 60. Your eye doctor can detect drusen during a comprehensive dilated eye exam. Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration has three stages, all of which may occur in one or both eyes: Early AMD. People with early AMD have either several small drusen o
Dry AMD is the most common form of macular degeneration, affecting 90 percent of people with the disease. In the dry form, aging changes called “drusen” become deposited underneath the macula. The changes that AMD patients develop as they age don’t necessarily affect quality of life. In fact the vast majority of patients with drusen have no visual changes. However in some AMD patients, drusen can cause the macula to thin, resulting in a gradual decrease in central vision. This late stage of the dry type is called geographic atrophy. If the drusen cause substantial weakening of important layers of the macula, they can set the stage for the “wet” form of AMD.
More than 85% of patients with age-related macular degeneration have the dry type. This occurs when the light sensitive cells in the macula slowly break down. Drusen are the earliest sign of the dry type. They are yellow deposit found in the macula. Drusen do not usually cause vision loss but indicate that the disease process has started. Over time, the dry type results in gradual blurring of central vision. You may have difficulty recognizing faces or reading and performing other tasks. The vision loss in the dry type is usually less severe than the wet type. 3. What is WET age-related macular degeneration? This occurs when new blood vessels began to grow beneath the macula. These blood vessels are very fragile and leak blood into the retina causing rapid and severe vision loss. This vision loss is generally considered permanent. 4. Can the DRY form turn into the WET form? Yes, at any point the dry type can transform into the wet type. This is why it is extremely important for you to
