Diagnosis In some cases, early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may be detected during a routine eye test before it starts to cause symptoms. If you're experiencing, such as blurred central vision, visit your GP or make an appointment with an optometrist, a healthcare professional trained to recognise signs of eye problems.

Detecting macular degeneration or any eye disease early with the Amsler grid test can jump start treatment and reduce the risk of associated complications. Monitor your vision at home with a tool called the Amsler grid and test for the onset or progression of macular degeneration. Check your vision now. Signs and symptoms of macular degeneration include: Visual symptoms. Distorted vision in the form of metamorphopsia, in which a grid of straight lines appears wavy.

Referral If your GP or optometrist thinks that you have wet AMD, you'll be referred to an ophthalmologist (a doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating eye conditions). Your appointment will usually be at a hospital eye department. If you need to travel by car to the hospital, ask someone else to drive you back as the eye drops given to you may make your vision blurry.

Eye examination The ophthalmologist will examine your eyes. You'll be given eye drops to enlarge your pupils. These take around half an hour to start working, and may make your vision blurry or your eyes sensitive to light. The effect of the eye drops will wear off after a few hours. The ophthalmologist will use a magnifying device with a light attached to look at the back of your eyes, where your retina and macula are.

They'll check for any abnormalities around your retina. The ophthalmologist will then carry out a series of tests to confirm a diagnosis of macular degeneration. Amsler grid One of the first tests involves asking you to look at a special grid, known as an Amsler grid. The grid is made up of vertical and horizontal lines, with a dot in the middle.

If you have macular degeneration, it's likely some of the lines will appear faded, broken or distorted. Saying which lines are distorted or broken will give your ophthalmologist a better idea of the extent of the damage to your macula. As the macula controls your central field of vision, it's usually the lines nearest to the centre of the grid that appear distorted. Eyecare Trust has a version of the on its website that you can print off and use at home to check for possible signs of AMD. Retinal imaging As part of your diagnosis, your ophthalmologist will need to photograph your retinas to see what damage, if any, macular degeneration has caused. As well as confirming the diagnosis, the images will prove useful in planning your treatment. There are several different ways of taking pictures of the retina. Elektronik Ohne Ballast Rapidshare Search.