Yellow spot disease, macular degeneration, or age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common eye disease that affects central vision. People with this disorder cannot see objects or people directly in front of them. Yellow spot disease is an age-related disease and is mostly seen over 50 years old people.

Yellow spot disease which is subject to ophthalmology can occur in both eyes and the level of symptoms can be mild to severe. The risk of yellow spot disease is higher as you get older. However, you can get yellow spot diseases at an early age as well. It is known that only in the States, there are more than 20 million macular degeneration cases.

In this article, we will first focus on the causes of yellow spot disease and the benefits of treatment of yellow spot disease. In the following part of the article, you can read about the types of treatment of yellow spot disease and diagnosis of yellow spot disease.

There are two types of yellow spot diseases, macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration and wet macular degeneration. Almost 90 percent of patients suffering from macular degeneration have dry degeneration. Macular degeneration can be an inherited eye disease. However, this disease can develop in any person. Macular degeneration occurs when the macula at the back of your eye begins to shrink. Diabetes, head injuries, and infections are among the reasons for yellow spot disease other than aging.

Many people with yellow spot disease do not realize that they have the disease as have no symptoms of yellow spot disease. Some of the symptoms of yellow spot disease can be lined up as below:

• Blurred vision
• Low vision
• Problems seeing colors as they are
• Difficulties to see objects in low light
• Straight lines that you see as curving
• Blank spots and dark spots in your vision

Age-related macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of vision loss. This type of vision loss hinders your ability to see what's in front of you. Macular degeneration can reduce your capacity in daily routines such as recognizing people and driving.

Previously, the best available treatment for macular degeneration was photodynamic therapy. In this treatment, a photosensitive drug is injected into the vein and a laser is used to seal the leaky blood vessels. Less than 15% of the patient who had this treatment can regain enough vision to drive and read. (About 20-40%)

If you have a wet form of macular degeneration, your doctor will inject anti-angiogenic drugs into your eye. These drugs prevent new blood vessels from forming and stop the leakage of the vessels that cause wet macular degeneration.

There is also a laser treatment option. High-energy laser light is used that can close and sometimes destroy abnormal blood vessels that have grown from wet macular degeneration.

In addition, some low vision aids devices with special lenses or electronic systems that magnify images of nearby objects are very useful in the treatment of macular degeneration, and yellow spot disease.

There is no treatment for dry yellow spot disease. However, you can use some visual aids and day increase your daily life quality without a doubt. You can also speak to your medical expert about how to live with dry yellow spot disease, macular degeneration. For instance, they may suggest you use brighter lighting at home and get mobile applications that may help your condition using computers and mobile phones.

For wet yellow spot disease or wet macular degeneration, your doctor suggests regular eye injections. A light treatment called photodynamic therapy can also be applied in some cases. As a surgical procedure laser photocoagulation may be suggested by your eye doctor as a surgical treatment for yellow spot disease. Intravitreal implants and nutritional supplements can be an option in different cases as a part of treatment. Rehabilitation therapies should be also considered.

Macular degeneration rarely causes symptoms in its early stages. Annual controls are very important and increase the possibility of early diagnosis. Disease progression, risk factors, and genetic factors can be followed and understood in that way.

 Your doctor will check for changes in your retina and macula and do various tests. For that, they can utilize high technology like retinal imaging. Some of the tests for diagnosis can be lined up as below:

• Dilated eye exam: You will be given a drop to dilate your eyes. Your doctor then uses a special lens to look inside your eyes.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT): This imaging machine takes detailed images of the back of your eye.
• Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA): This diagnostic tool produces 3D images of the blood flow in your eye.
• Amsler grid test: An Amsler grid consists of straight lines with a large dot in the middle. Your eye doctor will ask you to identify lines that appear blurry, wavy, or broken. can show.