At first you may not have symptoms. As the disease progresses, your central vision may be affected.

The most common symptom in dry AMD is blurred vision. This is limited to the center of the field of vision. Often objects in the central vision look distorted and dim, and colors look faded. A patient may have trouble reading print or seeing other details, but can generally see well enough to walk and perform most routine activities.

As the disease becomes worse, you may need more light to read or perform everyday tasks. The blurred spot in the center of vision gradually gets larger and darker. In the later stages, you may not be able to recognize faces until people are close to you.

AMD typically does not affect side (peripheral) vision. This is very important, because it means you will never have complete vision loss from this disease.

The most common early symptom of wet macular degeneration is that straight lines appear distorted and wavy. You may also notice a small dark spot in the center of your vision that gradually gets larger. Central vision loss can occur very quickly. If this occurs, you urgently need evaluation by an ophthalmologist with experience in retina disease.

If you are over age 60 and you’ve had changes in vision, your eye care provider will do an examination. During the exam, the doctor will use drops to enlarge (dilate) your pupils, and a special lens to view your retina and optic nerve.

The doctor will look for changes in the blood vessels and the membrane that surrounds them. This may show drusen, the yellow deposits that form on this membrane in dry macular degeneration.

You may be asked to cover one eye and look at a pattern of lines called an Amsler grid. If the straight lines appear wavy, it may be a sign of AMD.

Other tests for macular degeneration may include:

• Fluorescein angiogram
• Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)