College of Optometrists

Patient Leaflet - Macular Degeneration

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Published: 1 Jun 2011

Summary

The macula is an area at the back of your eye that you use for seeing fine detail such as reading a book. Macular degeneration (MD) covers a number of conditions which affect the macula. The conditions affect your ability to do certain tasks such as reading and watching television, but do not affect your ability to walk around as your side vision is not affected. One of the most common symptoms of MD is noticing that straight lines appear wavy. You may not notice this if it happens in one eye as your other eye will compensate, so it is important to regularly check your vision in each eye separately. You can do this by looking with each eye separately at the straight lines on a door frame or venetian blind. If you notice the lines are distorted, you should see your optometrist straight away.