• What is it?
• What are the symptoms?
• What causes it?
• How can I avoid losing vision to AMD?
• Where can I get more help or information?

What is it?

AMD, short for age-related macular degeneration and also known as ARMD, is a degenerative disease of the macula, the tiny part of the retina that is responsible for our central or detailed vision.

When our central vision is damaged, we are left only with our peripheral vision, which makes it difficult to perform activites such as reading, driving and crafts, or to recognise people’s faces. There are two types of AMD – dry and wet.

Dry AMD – This is the more common and less severe form, which involves varying degrees of sight loss. Dry AMD is characterised by small, whitish-yellow deposits called
drusen in the macula. It may or may not lead to the more serious wet AMD.

Wet AMD – while this form is less common, its effects are more severe. Wet AMD is caused by the growth of abnormal blood vessels can burst and leak fluid into the
tissue at the back of the eye, causing scarring and severe loss of vision.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms may vary greatly, but the most common signs are:

• Blurring of central vision

• Difficulty reading or seeing fine details

• Distortion of lines and shapes

• Difficulty recognising faces

• Sensitivity to bright light

• An obvious blind spot in the centre of the visual field

What causes it?

It is still not known exactly what causes AMD. However, there are a number of genetic and environmental factors that are known to increase your risk. These include:
Family history – people who have blood relatives with AMD should have regular eye tests

Smoking – a clinically proven risk factor

UV light – recent research has shown that UV rays can damage the macula. 100% UV protective sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat can protect your eyes from the damaging effects of the sun.

Can it be treated?

There is currently no known treatment for dry AMD.

There are two main treatments for wet AMD which can slow the progress of the disease, although they cannot restore sight that has already been lost.

Photocoagulation uses a hot laser to cauterize the leaking blood vessels in the retina. This process may leave a blind spot on the retina.

Photodynamic therapy uses a cold laser with a light-sensitive dye to detect and treat growing abnormal blood vessels.

How can I avoid losing vision to AMD?

Regular eye tests are the most efficient way of retaining your vision. Once vision is lost due to abnormal blood vessel growth, it cannot be restored. It is recommended that people over the age of 50 have an eye examination every 5 years, and that those who are in high risk groups have eye tests every 2 years.

Don’t smoke, or if you do, quit. Recent studies have shown that smokers are two to five times more likely to develop AMD than non-smokers.

Eat 5+A day of fruit and vegetables. Especially leafy green ones such as spinach and kale. These contain good doses of antioxidants called lutein (pronounced loo-tein) and zeaxanthin (pronounced ze-uh-zan-thin), which more and more research suggests are beneficial for healthy eyes. The human body cannot make either of these substances, but it does store them, and storage is concentrated in the macula. Both substances have been shown to protect the eye from the damaging effects of UV rays, almost as if they were the eye’s natural sunscreen.

Where can I get more help or information?

Retina New Zealand has a range of information as well as peer support groups for people with AMD. You can be put in touch with a peer supporter by calling 0800 24 33 33, pressing 1 for general enquiries and asking to speak with a Retina New Zealand peer supporter.