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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
With wet macular degeneration, the following signs and symptoms may appear and progress rapidly:
- Visual distortions, such as straight lines appearing wavy or crooked, a doorway or street sign looking lopsided, or objects appearing smaller or farther away than they really are
- Decreased central vision
- Decreased intensity or brightness of colors
- Well-defined blurry spot or blind spot in your field of vision
- Abrupt onset
- Rapid worsening
- Seeing nonexistent things (hallucinating), such as unusual patterns, geometric figures, animals or even faces, caused by disrupted communication between the deteriorated macula and the brain
Your vision may falter in one eye, while the other remains fine for years. You may not notice any changes or only mild changes because your good eye compensates for the eye with macular degeneration. Your vision and lifestyle are dramatically affected when this condition develops in both eyes.
When to see a doctor
See your eye doctor — particularly after age 50 — if:
- You notice changes in your central vision
- Your ability to see colors and fine detail becomes impaired
One way to monitor your eyes to determine if you may need to visit your eye doctor is to check your vision regularly using an Amsler grid. This simple test may help you detect changes in your sight that you otherwise may not notice.
Here's what you do:
- Hold the grid 14 inches in front of you in good light. Use your corrective spectacles or reading glasses if you normally wear them.
- Cover one eye.
- Look directly at the center dot with your uncovered eye.
- While looking at this dot, determine whether all the lines of the grid appear straight, uninterrupted and with the same contrast.
- Repeat the above steps with your other eye.
- If any part of the grid is missing or looks wavy, blurred or dark, contact your eye doctor immediately.
Amsler grid (PDF file requiring Adobe Reader)
