Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Time Will Tell

July 26, 2021

As with every other physical object in life, your eyes can deteriorate over time. Macular degeneration can crop up as the years pass. 

At the offices of Brook Plaza Ophthalmology, patient care and comfort are our main priorities. You will receive personal attention and care throughout every step of the diagnosis and treatment processes. We consider every patient to be unique, and we know that individual preferences vary. Our goal is to offer a clear picture of all the options available to you and deliver the results you expect. We use state-of-the-art knowledge and technology to perform a complete array of services with the utmost care and precision.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is most common in older adults. However, age isn’t the only element that increases your chance of developing AMD. There are other factors, such as heredity, smoking, a poor diet and high blood pressure. 

There are two kinds of AMD: dry and wet. Both can lead to vision issues. 

The vast majority of people—up to 90 percent—who are struck with AMD get the dry kind. It’s due to the accumulation of specks of fat and protein named drusen, which pools under your retina. The retina is a film of tissue at the back of the eye that processes light. 

No one knows drusen’s origins, but it’s assumed to be bits of the retina’s waste that the eye can’t be correctly disposed of and reprocessed. It’s not uncommon for people 50 or older to have some hard drusen in their eyes. It’s nothing to be concerned about if they’re not in the macula, which is the small area in the middle of the retina. On the other hand, drusen that is soft, large and indeed in the macula can contribute to vision loss. When AMD reaches an advanced stage, the drusen prevents oxygen from reaching your eye. 

Wet AMD’s negative effects occur a lot faster than dry AMD. It involves the formation of extra blood vessels in your eye under the macula. The extra vessels drip blood and other kinds of damaging fluids. The reasons behind the formations of the blood vessels is unclear, though it could be connected to your eye’s efforts to clean itself of the drusen. 

At the offices of Brook Plaza Ophthalmology, our skilled and experienced ophthalmologists are experts in their field. We want what you want: excellent outcomes. Please don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment today!