Can Macular Degeneration Cause Blindness

See your eye doctor if.

Can macular degeneration cause blindness.

Your ability to see colors and fine detail becomes impaired. When the central region of the retina starts to deteriorate macular degeneration occurs. Macular degeneration doesn t cause total blindness because it doesn t affect your peripheral vision. People 55 and older are at the highest risk of developing amd.

When to see a doctor. There are some forms of macular degeneration that can cause a rapid deterioration of vision unfortunately. Dry macular degeneration usually affects both eyes. A person who has been diagnosed with macular degeneration is naturally concerned about permanently losing their sight since the eye disease is the number one cause of severe blindness.

When the photoreceptors in the macula degrade patients go blind. Advanced age related macular degeneration amd is the world s leading cause of irreversible blindness and visual impairment according to the brightfocus foundation whose funding backs research in macular degeneration and glaucoma. These wet forms of macular degeneration involve the growth of blood vessels deep within the eye and when those vessels leak or burst they cause rapid loss of vision. If only one eye is affected you may not notice any changes in your vision because your good eye may compensate for the weak eye.

While there is no specific cause risk factors include smoking and some blood pressure medications. Macular degeneration doesn t affect side peripheral vision so it rarely causes total blindness. The patients lose their ability to take part in activities. Loss of color perception due to macular degeneration is the result of a normally formed cell losing its ability to function.

Patients with macular degeneration lose their central vision. These changes may be the first indication of macular degeneration particularly if you re older than age 50. And the condition doesn t affect side peripheral vision so it rarely causes total blindness. Cures do not yet exist for either condition.

Macular degeneration is a serious condition that can lead to legal blindness in older adults. It s estimated that more than 10 million americans have this disease. Does everyone with macular degeneration eventually go blind. It s also the number one.

You notice changes in your central vision. Color blindness is caused by an altered gene causing a cone cell to lack the proper molecular pigment. Learn more about what causes macular degeneration.