Symptoms Of Macular Degeneration

Causes and Symptoms Of Macular Degeneration

The most common form of macular degeneration is called involutional macular degeneration. This form accounts for 70 per cent of all cases, and is associated with ageing. It is caused by a breakdown or thinning of the tissues in the macula.

About 10 per cent of macular degeneration falls into a category called exudative macular degeneration. Normally, the macula is protected by a thin tissue that separates it from very fine blood vessels nourishing the back of the eye. Sometimes these blood vessels break or leak and cause scar tissue to form. This often leads to the growth of new abnormal blood vessels in the scar tissue. These newly formed vessels are fragile. They rupture easily and may leak. Blood and leaking fluid destroy the macula and cause further scarring. Vision becomes distorted and blurred, and dense scar tissue blocks out central vision to a severe degree.

Other types of macular degeneration are inherited, may occur in juveniles (juvenile macular degeneration), and are not associated with the ageing process. Occasionally, injury, infection, or inflammation may also damage the delicate tissue of the macula.

If only one eye is affected, macular degeneration is hardly even noticeable in the initial stages, particularly when the other eye is normal. This condition often involves one eye at a time, so it may be some time before a patient notices visual problems.

Macular degeneration can cause different symptoms in different people. Sometimes only one eye loses vision while the other eye continues to see well for many years. If both eyes are affected, however, reading and close-up work may become difficult. Macular degeneration alone does not cause total blindness. Since side vision is usually unaffected, most people can take care of themselves quite well.

Color vision may also become dim and other visual disturbances such as words looking blurred can develop due to macular degeneration