Can I Go Blind From Macular Degeneration

Total blindness from macular degeneration is extremely rare.

Can i go blind from macular degeneration.

There are several factors both controllable and uncontrollable that may put you at risk of macular degeneration. 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. Macular degeneration typically affects the central part of vision referred to as the macula. Dry age related macular degeneration amd is the most common.

Many patients are frightened of losing vision or going blind when they are told they have age related macular degeneration amd. Although amd may occur earlier studies indicate that people over age 60 are at greater risk than those in younger age groups. For instance a large study found that people in middle age have about a 2 percent risk of getting amd but this risk increased to nearly 30 percent in those over age 75 facts about 2009. Age related macular degeneration is a disease that affects vision due to damage to the central part of the retina.

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. 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. In the u s macular degeneration affects nearly 10 million people. 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. Spots in the retina. However although the disease may cause blindness it s not guaranteed. People with very advanced macular degeneration are considered legally blind.

No one will ever go completely blind from macular degeneration. 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. Even so since the rest of the retina is still working they retain their peripheral vision or side vision.