Macular Degeneration

Know your risks and preserve your vision

What Is Macular Degeneration?

Macular degeneration, also called AMD or age-related macular degeneration, occurs when the macula — the central portion of the retina — begins to wear down, causing central vision loss.

People who suffer from AMD tend to lose their “straight ahead” vision, making it difficult to read, drive, and recognize faces.

Total vision loss is unlikely, as there's typically enough peripheral vision to allow for other activities of daily life.

Man with macular degeneration

Types of Macular Degeneration:

macular degeneration types

Dry AMD: small deposits called drusen damage retinal nerve cells and reduce vision
Wet AMD: new blood vessels form that leak and release fluid that harms the macula. This is a more severe form of AMD that can more quickly cause vision loss.

Don’t Let AMD Rob You of Your Sight

An estimated 196 million people are living with macular degeneration worldwide. Although those affected by it rarely lose all their vision, the vast majority suffer from some degree of vision loss.

While there is currently no cure for AMD, there are certain treatments that can slow its progression — and low vision aids that can increase independent functioning.

If you think you're at risk or are experiencing symptoms, contact Coventry EyeCare Associates today. We can diagnose and help treat the disease.

Risk Factors for AMD

Aged 50+

The onset of AMD usually happens over the age of 50 and increases substantially with time. For instance, a 2% risk at age 55 can turn into a 30% risk by age 75.
Lifestyle factors

Smoking or eating a diet high in saturated fat can increase your risk of AMD. Furthermore, these habits increase the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease–two additional risk factors for AMD.
Obesity

Research shows that people with a BMI of over 30 double their chances of developing AMD.
Family History

If you have a close relative with AMD, you have a higher risk of developing this eye condition.

How to Stop the Progression of Macular Degeneration

While there isn’t yet a cure for AMD or an effective way of reversing vision loss that has already occurred, you can take certain steps and adopt new habits to slow the progression of the disease.

Furthermore, certain treatments can slow its progression and low vision aids that can increase independent functioning.

Talk to us about how you can slow the progression of the disease and avoid vision loss by contacting Coventry EyeCare Associates today.

Photograph

Macular Degeneration FAQs

What are the first signs of AMD?

You may have AMD and not know it. Typically, symptoms may not develop until the advanced stage of the eye disease.

First signs of AMD may include:

Blurred vision
Blind spots or dark spots
Straight lines appearing distorted or wavy
Faded colors

For early detection and better outcomes, it's important to undergo regular eye exams at our eye clinic, especially if you have a family history of AMD or other risk factors.

How common is macular degeneration?

Statistics indicate that 8.7% of the world population has macular degeneration. The rate of AMD is expected to increase from 196 million in 2022 to 288 million by 2040.

What is the best treatment for macular degeneration?

Currently, the most common treatment for wet AMD is the injection of medications called anti-VEGF agents. High levels of VEGF in the eye increase the formation of abnormal blood vessels that cause much of the damage in wet AMD.

Patient Reviews

4.7

100 Reviews

- Oct. 29, 2024

REVIEW UPDATE: I wanted to change my review to 5 stars. The office manager, I believe her name was D... Show Moreeb, reached out to me and went above and beyond to apologize. I still feel confident recommending Conventry to anyone I know. Customer service here has always been great and they have turned my experience into something positive. I have come here for a couple years and have always liked it as well as liking their doctors. But this last year after using a new prescription of contacts I noticed a lot of problems with my right eye. Nothing major at first to notice really, but after about 5-6 months I realized how blurry my vision was. I’ve had bad experiences in the past with eye doctors (not here) who would downplay minor concerns I’ve had with the strength of my prescription, or tell me my actual prescription has actually lowered not increased. With that in mind I’ve figured I would just trust my eye doctor at eye conventry and the issues with my right eye was probably just natural degeneration from age. I told myself I would bring it up at my next eye doctor appointment as long as there was no pain. Another thing I’ve also had a big increase of migraines this year, more than I’ve ever had. I actually also hit a curb which popped my tire in the right side of my car from my blurry vision. I just figured all this was random things not connected with one another. At my yearly doctor appointment Saturday, they noticed me struggle with my right eye even with my contacts. After getting put into a room they asked me multiple questions about my right eye. I had mentioned how it had really bothered me but I just figured it was in my head or I would just a night prescription. They focused a lot of questions on my right eye which actually scared me, I started to think there may actually be something seriously wrong. After about 5 minutes l the doctor arrived and continued asking me questions about my right eye which was increasing my anxiety about something being wrong. The doctor seemed nervous right from the beginning and after asking some more questions, he finally admitted that they had made a clerical error on my prescription. He seemed to change the subject rather quickly and I was just relieved that I was okay. After a few minutes I realized how weird a clerical error sounded and rounded back and asked what the actual error was. Apparently the prescription they gave me had my Y axis as 1.0, what it was supposed to actually be is a 10!!!! I started to ask more questions if this is why I’ve had so many migraines this year, and was this why I struggled so much to see things, and he said yes this could have caused all of this. He also admitted that he’s not sure how this happened, he even double checks all prescriptions but somehow they messed up. Again me being relieved that nothing was wrong I let it go. But days later the more think about the more upset I am getting. I struggle financially so to realize I paid over $700 for contacts that were so completely wrong, to pay for something that caused me constant migraines which resulted in me needing to call off work, and for me realize this contributed to me having a hard time seeing and hitting a curb. I wasn’t offered replacement contacts or a discount on the exam or a real apology, I just seemed like such a minor thing to them. I really trusted this eye doctor and I understand mistakes happen, but this really affected me for almost a full year. I still have to use these contacts!!! I need to save replace them with my new prescription which will be again over $700, so until then these are all I have.I wish they could have done more to rectify this and I very disappointed.