When you have dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), it’s important to pay attention to any changes in your vision. By keeping track of your vision changes, you can work with your eye care specialist to adjust your treatment right away if needed.

While total blindness from dry AMD is rare, low vision from dry AMD can make daily tasks difficult, even with glasses or contact lenses. One member of myAMDteam shared, “I haven’t been able to drive for five years now. Reading a book or magazine for pleasure is long gone.”

Dry AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in older adults. It can cause your vision to decline at an unpredictable rate. By tracking your vision loss and changes, you can make important decisions about your treatment that may help slow the progression of dry AMD.

In this article, we’ll discuss five easy ways to track your vision changes from dry AMD.

1. Use an Amsler Grid Every Day

Vision changes from dry AMD are often gradual, so you might not notice them right away. An Amsler grid is a helpful tool to detect these changes in your vision as they happen. Using the Amsler grid daily is an effective way to monitor your vision over time.

However, the Amsler grid has a couple of limitations: First, you must use it correctly and consistently to track vision loss from dry AMD. Second, if you normally use reading glasses, you will have to wear them during the test.

An Amsler grid looks like a standard square grid with a black dot in the center. Here’s how to use it correctly:

• Sit about 14 inches away from the grid.
• Cover one eye while using the other to look at the grid.
• Focus on the dot in the center of the grid.
• Check for any distortions in the grid pattern around the central dot.
• Cover your other eye and repeat the test with the previously covered eye.

With dry AMD, parts of the Amsler grid might appear wavy, dark, or blank in your peripheral vision during the test. One MyAMDTeam member noticed major distortions in the grid. They said, “It looks terrible now. Dark and wavy.”

Contact your eye doctor right away if you see distortions with either eye.

2. Track Your Vision With a Reference Object

Instead of using an Amsler grid to track vision loss, you can monitor vision loss with a familiar object at home. This method, known as the “environmental Amsler technique,” helps you detect changes in your vision without the Amsler grid or special tools.

To use the environmental Amsler technique, simply choose an object you see every day — one that has straight lines — and use it as you would use the Amsler grid. Every day, focus on its center with one eye at a time and look for changes or distortions in your peripheral vision.

Let your eye doctor know if you notice:

• Waves or distortions in straight lines
• Blurry patches in your vision
• Gray patches in your vision
• Objects looking smaller than they really are

One myAMDteam member shared, “I see wavy lines when I look at my computer or anything that has a straight line. It seems to be bending or getting distorted.”

3. Don’t Skip Your Vision Care Appointments

During routine appointments, your eye doctor uses various tools to assess your eye health and guide your dry AMD treatment. Some tools look for structural changes in the macula (the part of the eye that focuses on what’s directly in front of you), while others check your overall vision. Your appointments might involve a few types of tests.

Dilated Eye Exam

A dilated eye exam from your eye doctor can detect drusen, which are yellow deposits under your retina. Drusen are a key indicator of dry AMD and can often be seen in a dilated eye exam even if you don’t have vision loss.

Fluorescein Angiography

This test helps your eye doctor observe changes in your retina and its blood vessels. It uses an injected dye to highlight these areas. Changes detected may indicate that your dry AMD has progressed to wet AMD, which is a more serious form of macular degeneration.

Amsler Grid Test

Eye doctors use Amsler grid tests to detect changes in your central vision, just as you can do at home.

It’s important for everyone to visit the eye doctor for routine appointments, even if they haven’t been diagnosed with dry AMD. Early macular degeneration often doesn’t cause symptoms. But for people with AMD, regular checkups are vital for monitoring how the eye disease is progressing.

In addition to your regularly scheduled appointments, be sure to consult your eye doctor as soon as you notice any changes in your vision.

4. Consider a Home Monitoring Device

Some home monitoring devices and tools have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for tracking dry AMD at home and may be covered by Medicare.

ForeseeHome Monitor

The ForeseeHome Monitor by Notal Vision is the first FDA-approved home monitoring device for dry AMD. You should use the device daily to take a simple test. This device can detect vision changes you might not notice without it.

In clinical trials, 87 percent to 94 percent of people who used the ForeseeHome Monitor to track vision loss from dry AMD maintained 20/40 vision when they developed wet AMD. In contrast, only 62 percent of people with dry AMD who used conventional methods, like the Amsler grid, achieved the same level of visual acuity. Experts use 20/40 vision as a reference point because it generally allows people to maintain their independence, including driving.

To use the ForeseeHome Monitor, spend three minutes testing each eye. The device automatically sends your results to a separate monitoring center, which then relays a monthly report to your eye doctor.

Alleye by Oculocare

Alleye is a mobile app you can download on your phone to help monitor vision changes with dry AMD and other eye conditions. The app sends your testing data directly to a web interface that your eye doctor can access.

The test is simple. Using one eye at a time, you align a moving central dot with two fixed dots. You repeat this task three times with different dot placements, creating an imaginary line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) between the three dots each time. Unlike the Amsler grid, you focus on the moving dot while using your peripheral vision to see the fixed dots.

Ask your health care team whether one of these tools might be helpful in monitoring your AMD.

5. Compare Your Vision in Each Eye

No matter which testing method you use, it’s important to compare your vision in your left eye with your right. By paying attention to differences in vision between your two eyes and seeking the treatment you need promptly, you may be able to protect your other eye from dry AMD.

Slowing Dry AMD Progression

Tracking your vision loss helps you and your ophthalmologist understand the stage of your dry AMD. When you report vision changes to your eye doctor, they can recommend treatments for dry AMD and eye care tips to help you slow the disease’s progression. Your provider might suggest:

• Lifestyle and diet changes
• AREDS2 vitamin supplements
• Medications to slow AMD progression

Always consult your ophthalmologist before using supplements or medications for dry AMD.

Talk With Others Who Understand

On myAMDteam, the social network for people with dry age-related macular degeneration and their loved ones, members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with dry AMD.

How do you track your vision changes from dry AMD? Have you noticed changes over time? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.