Macular degeneration
goodtoknow says: Macular degeneration is the most common cause of serious vision problems, but there are promising new treatments now. It happens because tiny cells in your eye get damaged and die. There are two types of macular degeneration. Dry ARMD is the cause in 9 in 10 cases and can make reading, writing, driving and recognising faces increasingly difficult, although this can take many years. Wet ARMD is much quicker but rare. Both mainly affect older people, women more than men. Around 1 in 8 people over 85 have it.
For a full medical explanation of the causes, symptoms and treatments of macular degeneration from patient.co.uk, read on.
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) causes a gradually loss of central vision, but not peripheral vision. Central vision is needed for reading, driving, recognising faces and doing detailed work. The decline to severe loss of vision can vary from months to years - depending on the type and severity of ARMD. Visual loss caused by ARMD cannot be reversed. However, in a small number of cases, treatment may halt or delay the progression of visual loss.
