If you notice any of the following symptoms...

GET TO A DOCTOR

• Reduced visual acuity (blurred vision)

Difficulty distinguishing faces or doing any other activity which requires fine vision.

• Poor colour vision.

Including the need for increased illumination, sensitivity to glare, and decreased night vision.

• Distortion

Straight lines may appear wavy or bent. For example, tiles in the bathroom appear wavy or window frames are not straight.

• Blind spots

Dark patches or empty spaces can appear in the centre of your vision.

It's possible that you may be in the early stages of Age related macular eye disease or AMD

AMD stands for Atrophic Macular Degeneration.

It is the leading cause of middle aged vision loss in the western world,

THERE IS NO CURE for AMD.

AMD is a degeneration of the macula. Which is the central part of the retina, at the back of your eye.

responsible for fine, detailed central-visual tasks such as reading.

Often in the early stages you wont realise you have it.

Especially if you only have it in one eye, as the other healthy eye can compensate for any loss of vision.

There are two types of AMD 'Wet and 'Dry'

In "Dry" AMD the Choroid which lies behind the retina, and contains its blood supply. Becomes obstructed by "cellular debris" called Drusen.

Which are like little yellow deposits that can dislodge the retina in places, causing partial vision loss.

Wet AMD

Is more rare but is far more serious.

It accounts for only 10-15% of AMD cases, but 80% of severe vision loss.

Wet Age related macular eye disease is caused by abnormal formation of new blood vessels in the Choroid.

These become thin and leak. Building up pressure and killing areas of the retina.

Its believed that Wet AMD is closely linked to smoking, and high fat intake,

Although it can't be cured, parts of the retina which have been damaged can't be repaired.

Wet Amd can be treated by injections or Laser therapy.

But it must be caught at an early stage.

Although very serious AMD won't make you completely blind.

The area of the macular is only about 5% of the total retina, and controls about 35% of our visual ability.

Unfortunately it’s the bit in the middle.

It takes quite a bit of getting used to, but I’m told that like most things, you can learn to live with it.

The important bit is to diagnose it early, so you can do some damage limitation.