4 Ways to Detect Macular Degeneration

1. Eye Sight Worries

To detect macular degeneration, watch for any changes in your vision. The symptoms may be gradual and painless. Early signs of macular degeneration include blurry central vision and a fuzzy spot in the center of your vision. Fine print is harder to read and you may need extra light when doing close-up tasks. Macular degeneration does not affect peripheral vision. You may see gray or blank spots when you are reading, driving or looking at people's faces.

2. Wet and Dry

All macular degeneration starts as the dry form. Wet symptoms of macular degeneration develop when new blood vessels grow and leak fluid or blood. There may be a blister or bump that forms under the macular. Wet symptoms include distortions of signs, straight lines, or size confusion. Objects seem wavy or crooked and a doorway may seem farther away than it is. There will be blank spots in your vision.

3. Self Diagnosis

To monitor your vision, use a ruler, dark colored marker and an eight by ten piece of paper to draw a grid. Take a red marker and draw a small dot in the middle of the grid somewhere. Put it on your bathroom mirror or refrigerator where you will see it every day and remember to look at it. Take the grid and hold it in front of you. Cover an eye and look directly at the dot. Note whether any of the lines become wavy. Repeat the procedure with the other eye. If you see dark spots, crooked lines or blank spots, schedule an appointment with an eye doctor immediately. You can also test your vision by concentrating on a bright object with one eye covered. If the brightness of the color fades or distorts, then you may have early signs of macular degeneration. Your eye doctor will do vision tests and possibly an angiography. She will insert a dye into the eye and then take pictures to determine if abnormal blood vessels have formed. They may also perform an optical coherence tomography test to isolate any changes in the eye.

4. All in the Family

Take into account your family history. Some people are genetically more inclined. Ask your family members if they have had any similar experiences. This is useful to your doctor for diagnosis of macular degeneration. Family members will tend to develop symptoms in the same way at the same speed of progression.