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Millions of
people deal with age-related macular degeneration as they get
older, but many don’t understand the difference between
types of the condition or what they can do to lessen the
effects. Dr. Sophie Bakri, a Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist and
retina specialist, explains the differences between wet
macular degeneration and dry macular degeneration.
You’re
getting older and notice you’re not seeing as well. You try
out readers, but everything just seems blurry. And straight
lines seem wavy.
It could be
age-related macular degeneration.
“The macula
is the center of the retina,” Bakri says. “The retina is
the camera of the eye that receives the light impulses and
processes them, and the macula is responsible for the really
fine visual acuity, the right precise vision.”
Bakri says
there are two kinds of macular degeneration: wet and dry.
“The dry kind
usually comes on first, and when we look in the retina of the
dry kind, we see those little rocklike deposits under the
retina,” she explains. “Sometimes we see areas of atrophy
where the cells are not present or not really working as
well.”
For dry macular
degeneration, there are over-the-counter vitamins that can
help, but mostly Bakri says a Mediterranean diet and exercise
are the best things you can do for symptoms.
“The wet type
is usually in the later stages when a blood vessel has grown
under the retina and is leaking blood or fluid. And the No. 1
goal is to shut down that blood vessel to prevent it bleeding
even more and to prevent patients losing more vision.”
Bakri says that
for wet macular degeneration, you’ll likely need to see a
retina specialist for a treatment plan that includes regular
eye injections.
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