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. Figure 2, below, is an example of how this grid might appear to a patient with disease in the macular.

Great News!!!

Finally there appears to be solid evidence that antioxidant vitamins can be beneficial in the prevention of the severe forms of macular degeneration  (Sorry, they do NOT appear to be beneficial as a method of treatment, and they do NOT appear to slow the progression of cataracts).   The following link takes you to a recent press release from the National Institutes of Health, Age-Related Eye Disease Study.

And if you want to get your hands on the actual agent used in the study, go to your pharmacy and ask for Bausch and Lomb Ocuvite PreserVision.  (However,  as of 10/21/01, I couldn't find this product on the Bausch and Lomb website, so I don't think that is commercially available yet).