10 Symptoms of Macular Degeneration

By jolene

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Symptom #3: Scotoma

A scotoma is an area of partial or complete vision loss within a normal visual field. It causes partly diminished or complete degeneration of visual acuity in the affected area. All mammals have a normal scotoma called the blind spot in their field of vision. The blind spot is where the optic nerve exits the retina, and it has no photoreceptor cells.

However, a pathological scotoma can occur due to a variety of diseases that affect any part of the visual system. While a large scotoma in the peripheral vision can go unnoticed, a small scotoma in the macular or central vision can result in severe visual disability. Some causes of scotomas are multiple sclerosis, hypertension, nutritional deficiencies, vascular blockages, stroke, and macular degeneration. In macular degeneration, the scotoma is in the central visual field.