Macular degeneration can lead to loss of central vision. You may see dark spots, crooked lines, or blurriness in the center of your eye, but still have good peripheral vision.

While the later stages of macular degeneration usually affect your eyesight the most and bring the most noticeable vision changes, you could have an earlier stage of this eye condition and not even know it.

Learn more about the different vision changes you might experience with different types of macular degeneration.

In this article, we discuss what treatments might help you manage macular degeneration and prevent the worsening of your vision as the condition progresses.

Generally speaking, macular degeneration damages your central vision.

In early stages of wet or dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), you might just notice some blurriness in the middle of your visual field.

With more advanced stages of macular degeneration, blurriness or dark spots can appear in the center of your vision. Lines and shapes might also appear crooked or distorted.

For example, the grid pattern of the tiles in your bathroom may appear squiggly.

The edges of your visual field, or your peripheral vision, can remain fairly clear.

What is macular degeneration?

Macular degeneration is a progressive eye disease that develops with age for many people. It occurs when the macula (a small area of the retina about the size of a pencil eraser) begins to degrade. This part of the eye produces fine, focused vision in your central line of sight.

The two types of age-related macular degeneration are as follows :

  • Wet age-related macular degeneration: This happens when blood vessels develop unusually in the retina. These blood vessels cause damage to the macula, resulting in vision changes. Wet AMD is the less common form, but it’s associated with symptoms that progress faster and lead to more severe vision loss.
  • Dry age-related macular degeneration: It is the most common form of AMD. Dry AMD can develop slowly over time without you noticing early vision changes. It can develop in 1 or both eyes, but not every case of dry AMD becomes advanced.

You can learn more here about macular degeneration and the risk factors that play a part in the development of this eye condition.

How quickly your vision changes with macular degeneration depends on the type you have. Dry AMD is the most common type, making up around 90% of all cases of macular degeneration.

Early and intermediate phases of dry AMD tend to develop slowly over time, often with no symptoms in the early phases. Wet AMD, on the other hand, progresses much more quickly and often leads to more severe impairment.

Any stage of dry AMD can turn into wet AMD. But wet AMD is always the late stage.

Macular degeneration is a progressive eye disease for which there’s no cure.

No treatments are available that can cure or reverse the damage from macular degeneration. However, you can take steps to slow down or stop the eye disease from getting worse.

In the early stages of dry AMD, there are some therapies that may help slow the progression of the disease.

In the early and intermediate stages of dry AMD, you may follow treatments to try and help slow the progression of the disease to more advanced stages. Those may include:

  • a combination of vitamins known as AREDS or AREDS2, which can slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration
  • anti-VEGF injections into the eye, which can decrease swelling in the retina and reverse some vision loss by eliminating some atypical blood vessel growth; you may need to repeat these injections over time
  • quitting smoking can greatly reduce your chance of getting macular degeneration and slow down the progression
  • eating a nutritious diet, including dark leafy green vegetables, may also slow the progression

Though current guidelines only advise using nutritional supplements for intermediate-stage dry AMD, it may also be beneficial to those in the earlier stage, too.

It is important to speak with a healthcare professional before starting any new vitamins or supplements, as some supplements can interfere with prescription medications.

When you receive a macular degeneration diagnosis early, some treatments may help slow its progression. However, no treatment options can undo the vision damage caused by the condition.

Wet AMD is typically treated using anti-VEGF medication injections, such as:

  • aflibercept (Eylea)
  • bevacizumab (Avastin)
  • brolucizumab (Beovu)

People with vision loss from macular degeneration often turn to visual aids and other assistive devices. Examples of devices that people may use to help support vision loss include:

  • large print reading materials
  • clocks and phones with large, high contrast numbers
  • closed circuit television magnifiers
  • handheld or desktop magnifiers
  • telescopic devices
  • other lighted reading devices
  • eyeglasses with high-powered lenses
  • text-to-speech software or “talking” devices

People with later stages of macular degeneration may need help completing daily tasks, such as paying bills or cooking, and usually cannot drive.

If you or someone you love has vision loss from macular degeneration, a healthcare professional can help you identify local services or community organizations that can help meet these basic needs.

What does someone with macular degeneration see?

Someone with macular degeneration may see dark spots, crooked lines, or blurriness in the center of their eye but still have good peripheral vision.

What does reading look like with macular degeneration?

Reading with macular degeneration may look like seeing text as wavy rather than straight lines. This can make it difficult to read and write clearly.

What can be mistaken for macular degeneration?

Several conditions can be mistaken for macular degeneration, including retinal detachment, epiretinal membrane, and vitreomacular traction syndrome.

Macular degeneration is a progressive disease that can lead to severe loss of central vision. People with this condition might see dark spots or crooked lines in the center of their eyes but still maintain good peripheral vision.

Healthcare professionals recommend treatments that may help slow the progression of this disease. People with macular degeneration often need assistive devices like magnifiers and reading aids in the late stages of the disease if the vision is weak in both eyes.