Can Macular Degeneration Cause Blindness

These wet forms of macular degeneration involve the growth of blood vessels deep within the eye and when those vessels leak or burst they cause rapid loss of vision.

Can macular degeneration cause blindness.

A person who has been diagnosed with macular degeneration is naturally concerned about permanently losing their sight since the eye disease is the number one cause of severe blindness. When the photoreceptors in the macula degrade patients go blind. People 55 and older are at the highest risk of developing amd. It s also the number one.

Macular degeneration doesn t cause total blindness because it doesn t affect your peripheral vision. Does everyone with macular degeneration eventually go blind. While there is no specific cause risk factors include smoking and some blood pressure medications. A great many of those cases stem from macular degeneration which currently impacts 10 million people who either have the condition or are at severe risk of contracting it.

Color blindness is caused by an altered gene causing a cone cell to lack the proper molecular pigment. Patients with macular degeneration lose their central vision. And the condition doesn t affect side peripheral vision so it rarely causes total blindness. These changes may be the first indication of macular degeneration particularly if you re older than age 50.

When to see a doctor. You notice changes in your central vision. It s estimated that more than 10 million americans have this disease. Advanced age related macular degeneration amd is the world s leading cause of irreversible blindness and visual impairment according to the brightfocus foundation whose funding backs research in macular degeneration and glaucoma.

See your eye doctor if. Macular degeneration is a serious condition that can lead to legal blindness in older adults. The cell is healthy in all other respects. There are some forms of macular degeneration that can cause a rapid deterioration of vision unfortunately.

Cures do not yet exist for either condition. Learn more about what causes macular degeneration. Loss of color perception due to macular degeneration is the result of a normally formed cell losing its ability to function. Your ability to see colors and fine detail becomes impaired.

Dry macular degeneration usually affects both eyes. The patients lose their ability to take part in activities. Macular degeneration doesn t affect side peripheral vision so it rarely causes total blindness.