What is AMD and why should you pay attention?

What is age-related macular degeneration (AMD)?

AMD is one of the leading causes of sight loss in the UK. It happens when the cells in the macula - the central part of your retina - start to break down. As the condition progresses, everyday activities such as reading, driving and recognising faces can become increasingly difficult.

AMD is more common with age and primarily affects people over 55. It can develop gradually over several years or, in some cases, progress more rapidly within months. The condition often begins in one eye, though it may eventually affect both.

Oscar-winner Dame Judi Dench has been living with AMD since 2012, when she was in her mid-seventies. Now in her nineties, she recently spoke about her declining eyesight in an interview with Trinny Woodall.

Appearing on the fashion expert’s podcast, Fearless, Dame Judi explained that she can no longer go out alone due to the progression of her AMD. She now always has someone with her when she ventures outdoors, as her central vision has deteriorated to the point where she feels unsafe navigating the outside world by herself.

Her openness has sparked fresh appeals for people across the UK to have regular eye check-ups, to help detect AMD sooner.

Regular eye tests with an ophthalmologist are crucial for detecting AMD, as early changes in vision may go unnoticed. Knowing the key signs can help you seek treatment promptly and slow the condition’s progression.

Common signs of AMD may include:

• Central vision becomes blurry, distorted, or gradually harder to see clearly - even when wearing your glasses.

• Challenges with everyday activities such as reading, watching television, driving, or recognising faces.

• Needing brighter light to read or do close-up tasks.

• Colours appear less vivid or washed out.

• Increased sensitivity to bright lights or glare.

• Seeing occasional flickers or flashes of light.

• Straight lines appear wavy, bent, or irregular.

• Visual hallucinations - such as seeing objects that aren’t really there.

• A small blank spot in the centre of your vision that may become slowly larger over time.

While certain treatments and lifestyle changes might help slow the progression of AMD, they can’t restore vision that has already been lost.

“Once sight has been lost to AMD, we can’t get it back,” Mason warns. “Treatment focuses on stabilising your vision rather than improving it, which is why early diagnosis is so important. The earlier we catch AMD, the better chance we have of preserving your sight and maintaining your independence.”

She adds that in the past, many people accepted vision loss as an inevitable part of ageing - but that’s no longer the case.

“Regular eye checks allow us to detect and treat conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration early - often before symptoms develop,” says Mason.