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Early detection of macular degeneration allows you and your optometrist to initiate strategies to impact the progression of the disease.

We can now identify those at risk for macular degeneration before the signs even appear in the macula. In fact, Dark Adaptation screening can detect the earliest changes in the macula up to three years before visible symptoms appear in your macula. 

What are the signs of AMD?
The earliest symptom of macular degeneration is reduced night vision.  

Night vision is reduced because the interior layers of the eye start to deposit debris that is like cholesterol. The debris gets in the way when vitamin A tries to move from the blood supply to your macula photoreceptors. If vitamin A can't get to the photoreceptors, they struggle to recover from light exposure. This struggle leads to delayed dark adaptation and reduced night vision. 

How is AMD treated?
Preventing progression of macular degeneration involves increasing your macular pigment concentration, stopping or reducing smoking, protection of your eyes from blue light and diet and exercise strategies. 

It is our goal to identify this disease at its earliest stages so that we can preserve your vision. 

We encourage you to speak with an optometrist at Vision Source Eyecare about early detection and intervention.