Neither wet nor dry macular degeneration causes pain and is often not recognized as a problem requiring immediate attention. The image above is a typical example of what an AMD patient sees while reading. 

AMD is a degenerative process affecting the macula which is a special central part of the retina responsible for fine detail and straight ahead vision. The older you become the more likely you will suffer from some sort of macular degeneration. Dry AMD (non-exudative, atrophic) accounts for 90% of all cases and wet (exudative, neovascular, disciform) accounts for the other 10%. 

Wet AMD is an irreversible eye disorder that can lead to blindness. Early detection and close observation by a qualified Ophthalmologist can offer some hope for control of the spread of Choroidal NeoVascularization (CNV) and SubRetinal NeoVascularization (SRN or SRNV). Although you lose most of your center fine focus vision you still can maintain a useful lifestyle since you usually retain peripheral vision. 

Wet AMD is often associated with more sudden loss of vision (weeks or months) due to leakage or bleeding under the macula. The abnormal growth of blood vessels under the macula in the area of the choriocapillaris causes swelling around the fovea (a tiny 1.5 mm concentration of nerve endings) and presents a dense mask of scar tissue which is partially opaque due to leaking tiny blood vessels. Light rays entering the eye from any image are blurred and often color reduced before they reach the high concentration of rods and cones in this area of the macula. 

This web site was made by a patient with wet AMD although much of the information presented relates to both types of AMD. 

• Wet (exudative) macular degeneration accounts for 10% of AMD cases and affects 6% of people aged 65-74 and 20% of those over 75.
• It accounts for 90% of all cases of legal blindness (vision less than 20/200). It should be noted that to be considered legally blind (and eligible for services as such), you must have best corrected vision of 20/200 or worse in your better eye.
• Laser photocoagulation surgery if applied may need repeating for 50% of patients within one year.
• Your other eye has a 60% chance of developing AMD within 5 years.
• More than 10 million North Americans are presently affected by AMD and related eye diseases.
• Around 300,000 new cases of this largely untreatable disorder occur each year.
• Some surveys have estimated that 15 to 20 percent of AMD patients have one or more first-degree relatives who are also affected.
• Japan has the lowest, and the Inuit of Greenland have the highest incidence of AMD in the world.