Can I Go Blind From Macular Degeneration

Age related macular degeneration is a disease that affects vision due to damage to the central part of the retina.

Can i go blind from macular degeneration.

Spots in the retina. According to chip goehring founder and president of the american macular degeneration foundation he is living proof that by eating right and taking proper preventative measures you can still keep your sight even 20 years after being diagnosed with amd. At present macular degeneration is considered an incurable eye disease though some treatments do exist. 03 13 2013 macular degeneration is a chronic disease it can cause a sharp decline in the central visual acuity and central vision is required for daily activities.

Many patients are frightened of losing vision or going blind when they are told they have age related macular degeneration amd. People with very advanced macular degeneration are considered legally blind. Although amd may occur earlier studies indicate that people over age 60 are at greater risk than those in younger age groups. Dry age related macular degeneration amd is the most common.

Even so since the rest of the retina is still working they retain their peripheral vision or side vision. Prevention although most cases of wet macular degeneration are due to genetics there are a number of lifestyle and dietary factors that can affect the risk of developing the dry form of the eye disease. Total blindness from macular degeneration is extremely rare. No one will ever go completely blind from macular degeneration.

Vision changes in the dry form are slower and more insidious it may take months or years before one notices that colors are less vivid one s vision has become blurry or a grey or blank spot has developed in the middle of one s vision. On average it takes about 10 years to move from diagnosis to legal blindness but there are some forms of macular degeneration that can cause sight loss in just days. In the u s macular degeneration affects nearly 10 million people. Macular degeneration typically affects the central part of vision referred to as the macula.

However although the disease may cause blindness it s not guaranteed. The macula actually represents a very small component of a patient s overall visual field. Fortunately most patients with amd can keep good vision for their entire lives and even those who lose their central vision almost always maintain their side or peripheral vision.