Wet macular degeneration

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Definition
Symptoms
Causes
Risk factors
Preparing for your appointment

Tests and diagnosis
Treatments and drugs
Lifestyle and home remedies
Alternative medicine
Prevention

Definition

Age-related macular degeneration is a chronic eye disease in which the part of your eye responsible for central vision — your macula (MAK-u-luh) — gradually deteriorates, causing blurred central vision or a blind spot in the center of your visual field. Macular degeneration tends to affect adults age 50 and older.

Wet macular degeneration occurs when new blood vessels grow and leak fluid underneath the macula, an area of densely packed light-sensitive cells in the central part of the retina. Most cases of wet macular degeneration develop from the dry type of macular degeneration.

Early detection and treatment of wet macular degeneration may help reduce the extent of vision loss and in some instances improve vision.

Symptoms