| Back to Back Issues Page |
 |
|
How Fast Does Macular Degeneration Progress? Will I Go Blind? January 12, 2024 |
Hello How Fast Does Macular Degeneration Progress? Will I Go Blind?I was recently reading an article on the web regarding macular degeneration and it stated that age related macular degeneration (AMD) "was the leading cause of blindness in the senior population." If it had said legal blindness, that would be understandable, but to state that it results in blindness is inaccurate. 
The macula, a tiny spot in the center of the retina, is responsible for our sharp, detailed vision and our straight ahead or central vision. As the photoreceptor cells in the macula start to degenerate or die, the result is blurred vision - vision that is no longer crisp and clear and in advanced stages there is loss of central vision. However peripheral or side vision remains functional. How Fast Does Macular Degeneration Progress?One of the biggest concerns for those who receive a diagnosis of macular degeneration is how fast does this retinal disease progress. Many people write to me asking questions like these ...1. How soon will I experience vision changes and/or loss of my central vision? 2. Will I go blind? 3. Does dry macular degeneration always turn to wet macular degeneration? If yes, how fast will this happen? For the majority of people, age related macular degeneration progresses slowly. There is loss of central vision in advanced stages but AMD does not result in blindness. The most important factor affecting one's macular degeneration prognosis is if the patient has dry AMD or wet AMD. Dry vs Wet Macular DegenerationAlmost 85-90% of those with macular degeneration have the dry form. The progression of dry macular degeneration is often slow and may take years for it to advance.However, the dry form can turn into the wet form... and it can turn into the wet form very suddenly, even for those with early stage AMD. All those with wet AMD had the dry form first. There is no way to tell if or when the dry form will turn into the wet form. Only 10%-15% of AMD cases are the wet or exudative form. Wet AMD causes loss of central vision much quicker than the dry form ...and each eye can have a different form of macular degeneration. So one eye may lose central vision quicker than the other eye. Dr. Michael A. Samuel, ophthalmologist and author of Macular Degeneration: A Complete Guide for Patients and Their Families writes, "There's usually no way to know, once symptoms appear, how fast the disease will progress. You can go for years with a mild case of dry AMD, only to wake up one morning with drastic changes that indicate the onset of wet AMD." Learn more about the factors that contribute to the progression of dry and wet macular degeneration ...
Better Health for Better Vision |
| Back to Back Issues Page |