Your eye doctor will examine the back of your eye to look for a mottled appearance that's caused by drusen, yellow deposits that form in people with macular degeneration. To examine the back of your eye, your eye doctor will use microscopes, lenses, and retinal imaging. If necessary, we may use Optical Coherence Tomography, Visual Field Testing, and/or dilate your eyes.
Macular Degeneration Self-Test (Amsler Grid):
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This very simple test can quickly tell you if you have visually significant disease in the macula.
- Cover one eye.
- Stare at the center dot, through your reading glasses, if you have them.
- While concentrating at the central dot, notice the surrounding grid. ALL THE LINES SHOULD BE STRAIGHT.
- If some of the lines are wavy and crooked, you may have macular degeneration, or other macular disease.
- Unfortunately, if all the lines are straight, you still may have a mild form of macular degeneration; that is, a negative result on this test does not guarantee that your maculas are normal. The only sure way to find out if your maculas are normal is by having a complete eye exam at Patterson Optical.