Dry AMD will normally be diagnosed and monitored by your optician. They may use any of the following methods to monitor your AMD:

• You may be asked to attend regular appointments for your optician to monitor changes to your AMD and your sight. Between appointments, if you think that your eyesight has deteriorated, make sure you let your optician know straight away.

• They may take a photo of your retina to allow them to track changes to your macula over time.

• They may take a detailed scan of your macula using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

• Your optician may refer you to a hospital to see an ophthalmologist if they are worried about your dry AMD diagnosis or if your eyesight has deteriorated.

If your optician thinks that you have wet AMD you will be referred quickly to an ophthalmologist at a hospital.  

Wet AMD can progress very quickly so it is very important that you are seen as soon as possible to start receiving treatment. Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) state that you should start receiving treatment within two weeks of your first appointment.

At your hospital appointment you will have a dilated eye examination. This will allow your ophthalmologist to thoroughly inspect your macula and check for any changes caused by AMD.

The ophthalmologist may be able to diagnose AMD from looking at your macula, or they may need to perform an optical coherence tomography (OCT) test, and sometimes a fluorescein angiogram.