Age-related macular degeneration, commonly referred to as AMD, is the number one cause of severe loss of vision among Americans over the age of 50. Different from regular macular degeneration, it’s a progressive illness that affects nearly 15 million seniors in the United States — and tens of millions more across the globe.
AMD worsens as you get older too. It hits close to 25 percent of adults over the age of 65, but the number increases to a whopping 40 percent of those at least 74 years old. With more than 200,000 new cases of age-related macular degeneration diagnosed every year, the numbers continue to rise with the baby boomers reaching retirement age. In 2016, about one in three seniors have some level of AMD.
If you are having any abnormal visual symptoms, you should always be evaluated with a thorough consultation and examination by a physician for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan as it may be a symptom or sign of a serious illness or condition.You won’t go completely blind due to AMD, but you will eventually lose your entire central vision. That leaves you with only peripheral vision, able to see only what some people refer to as “out of the corner of your eye.” Age-related macular degeneration leaves you with only dim shadows or black holes in your central line of vision with just the ability to view images around the edges of your sightline.