How is age-related macular degeneration diagnosed?

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor II Nguyen Thai Hung - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International Hospital. Specialist II Nguyen Thai Hung has 13 years of experience as a doctor treating eye diseases.

If you have vision problems or have been diagnosed with age-related dry macular degeneration (AMD), your doctor may recommend testing you for wet AMD.
The macula is the part of the retina at the back and center of the eye. It allows you to see everything right in front of you, be it central vision or directly in front of it, as well as color and fine details.
With wet AMD, abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula and leak blood and fluid. That leak can damage the macula and cause vision problems. That's why your doctor may recommend wet AMD testing if you notice your vision is blurred or objects look distorted or curved (for example, if a straight line looks wavy). with you). While these vision problems are a sign of wet AMD, they can also be a sign of other eye conditions.

First, your eye doctor will talk with you about your health history, including any vision problems you have, and ask you about your family's health history. The doctor will then do a complete eye exam, which may include:
Vision test, which uses an eye chart to check how clearly you see at different distances. Measure refraction. You will look through a series of lenses to determine which glasses and contact lenses can improve your vision. Glaucoma screening, which measures the pressure inside your eye. Your doctor will also do other tests used to diagnose wet and dry AMD. These include the following:
A retinal exam, which allows your doctor to examine the retina at the back of your eye. You will likely be given eye drops to widen (dilate) your pupils. The doctor will then use a special magnifying lens to look at the optic nerve and retina for blood, fluid, and evidence of drusen. (Drusen are yellow spots that usually form under the retina.) These are all signs of AMD.

Visual inspection to check for problems in the center of vision. Your doctor will use an Amsler grid, which is examined and may have a dot on it. For example, if you have wet AMD, you may see curved, distorted, or missing lines or blocks when you look at the center of the Amsler grid. If you have problems with central vision, which is a sign of wet AMD, the lines may also disappear or look wavy. Optical retinal tomography (OCT). This is the most common image test. It allows your doctor to see detailed cross-sections of your retina. Your doctor will check for thinning, thickening, edema in the retina, changes in pigmentation, and drusen, all of which can be signs of AMD. Your eye doctor may also use OCT to help decide if your retina will respond to AMD treatment. OCT uses light waves to create high-resolution images of tissues. Your doctor will dilate your eyes, then rest your head on your chin while a projector shines light into your eyes to take pictures of your retina. OCT is not painful.
Fluorescein angiography: With this test, your doctor injects a fluorescent dye into your arm, to check for blood vessels for leaks in your eye or other changes to your retina. Because that could be a sign of AMD. Because this test can sometimes cause complications, like nausea or an allergic reaction, your doctor may not do it during regular eye exams.

Indocyanine blue angiography. This test is rarely used. It involves injecting dye into a vein. This test is often used to detect abnormal blood vessels deep in the retina and to confirm the results of a fluorescein angiogram. Usually, testing for wet AMD and other eye problems is done several times and each time can take several hours. In many cases, your doctor will be able to make a diagnosis soon after testing.
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Reference article source: webmd.com