The main difference between wet vs dry macular degeneration is simple: dry macular degeneration is the more common type of eye disease and does less damage to your vision while wet macular degeneration can result in serious vision loss.
Wet (exudative) AMD: accounts for 10% of AMD but results in 90% of blindness. Severe rapid visual loss occurs.
There are two types of AMD: dry macular generation and wet macular degeneration. Dry AMD usually progresses slowly over several years, but wet AMD can cause rapid vision loss in days or weeks.
After Diagnosis
Fortunately, only 10-15% of patients with dry macular degeneration progress to wet macular degeneration. Wet AMD is characterized by more abrupt central vision loss caused by abnormal blood vessels that bleed or leak fluid.
Any stage of dry AMD can turn into wet AMD — but wet AMD is always late stage. It happens when abnormal blood vessels grow in the back of the eye and damage the macula. The good news is that treatment options are available for wet AMD.
It typically takes approximately 5-10 years to progress from early-stage macular degeneration to the advanced stages. In advanced stages, vision loss may be severe enough that patients may be legally considered blind and should not drive or use machinery.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease that affects a person's central vision. AMD can result in severe loss of central vision, but people rarely go blind from it. Risk factors for AMD include being 50 and older, smoking, having high blood pressure and eating a diet high in saturated fat.
Macular degeneration is an eye condition that causes central vision loss. To prevent further vision loss, macular degeneration can be effectively slowed with laser surgery. There is, unfortunately, no cure for this medical condition.
The biggest risk factor for both types of AMD is age, with people age 55-64 having a 0.2 percent risk of developing AMD, and those older than 84 having a 13.1 percent risk. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of developing AMD by a factor of two to four, and the risk persists many years after stopping smoking.
Treatment of wet AMD requires monthly or bimonthly injections of drugs called anti-VEGF — or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor — into the eye.
What are anti-VEGF injections? The most common treatment doctors use to slow vision loss from wet AMD is called anti-VEGF injections. These medicines help stop bleeding and leaking from blood vessels in the back of your eye. Most people with wet AMD will get anti-VEGF injections as their only treatment.
The implantable Susvimo drug delivery system from Genentech, an innovative treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), has faced some setbacks alongside its successes since winning U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in October 2021.
AMD reversal is still an active area of research, albeit with some promising findings. Currently, there's no known cure for the condition. Most treatment and management options available so far help to prevent further damage once AMD has developed. They're still worth trying as they can improve vision in some patients.
Fortunately, for those struggling with the double whammy of vision loss from both AMD and cataracts, studies have shown that cataract surgery can improve vision in those who are candidates for the procedure. You and your ophthalmologist can discuss your options for achieving better sight.
The inadequate supply of oxygen indirectly caused due to stress is implicated to be the factor responsible for the worsening of vision. There is also a close link between wet macular degeneration and inflammation both of which could be associated with stress.
Coffee and Retinal Disease
A study done at Cornell University showed that an abundant ingredient in coffee called chlorogenic acid (CLA) is a strong antioxidant that may help prevent retinal disease like Age Related Macular Degeneration.
If you're in the early stages of age-related macular degeneration, you may not have symptoms. The first sign you may notice is a gradual or sudden change in the quality of your vision or that straight lines appear distorted to you. This may gradually turn into a dramatic loss of your central vision.
Sunglasses do more than just make a fashion statement. The right glasses can help reduce the risk of retinal and macular conditions by blocking exposure to the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
It depends what stage of AMD you have. If you have intermediate AMD in 1 or both eyes, they may be able to stop it from turning into late AMD. AREDS 2 supplements can't prevent early AMD from developing into intermediate AMD.