Diagnosis

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Your health care professional can detect macular degeneration through a comprehensive eye examination that includes reviewing your and your family's medical history, and conducting several tests. The following are common tests for age-related macular degeneration (AMD):

• Visual acuity measurement.

  This test measures your central vision's ability to distinguish details and shapes. You will be asked to look at and read a chart to measure how well you see at various distances.

• Ophthalmoscopy.

  In this test, your health care professional places drops in your eyes to widen, or dilate, your pupils, and uses an instrument for viewing the interior of the eye to look through the pupil at the retina. Your near vision may be blurred for several hours after this examination until the pupil-dilating drops wear off.

This test can help your health care professional detect small, yellow-colored deposits in the retina, called drusen, which can be an early sign of dry AMD. These deposits are composed of degenerative material from the retina's light-sensitive cells. The deposits are thought to interfere with the function of the macula, possibly causing its deterioration. But, drusen can be present without loss of vision. If your health care professional finds drusen, it doesn't necessarily mean you have macular degeneration. It means that eye is at risk for developing the disease.

• Amsler grid.

  In this test, you look at a grid that is a pattern of horizontal and vertical intersecting lines, similar to graph paper. You cover one eye and stare with the other at a black dot in the center of the grid. If, while staring at the dot, you notice that straight lines appear wavy, and/or some of the lines are missing, you may have a symptom of AMD.

You can obtain an Amsler grid from your health care professional, and do this simple test yourself to monitor symptoms of wet AMD. It is not, however, a substitute for a complete eye examination or a diagnosis by your health care professional. It may help you detect subtle changes in your vision that should be pointed out to your health care professional. Talk to your health care professional about whether using an Amsler grid is right for you.

• Fluorescein angiography.

  In this procedure, a dye is injected into your arm and travels to the retina. A special camera is used to take pictures of your retina as the dye passes through it. This technique maps the blood flow in the eye and can show any abnormal leakage and/or changes in the retina. The results help your health care professional confirm whether you have wet AMD. The procedure also helps your health care professional evaluate the damage and determine whether the leaking blood vessels can be treated.

• Tonometry.

  An instrument measures the pressure inside your eye. Numbing drops may be placed in your eyes for this test.

• Color testing.

  This can help determine the status of your cone cells, the retinal cells that interpret color.