Drusen Concern

Hello, I am 33 years old and was told 5 years ago that I had Drusen in both eyes in the same spot in each eye. I was told that it was a small dot. I went to an eye clinic yesterday and the doctor said it was a large spot in both eyes. She said it could have grown over the last 5 years. Is this something I should be concerned about? Will I eventually go blind?

[Michael J Kutryb, MD]

I don't really know the condition of your retinas from your brief description so you would need to get more detailed information about you condition from your ophthalmologist.  I guess the answer really depends on what kind of drusen, how many, where they are, your family history, other factors such as smoking, diabetes, poor health, overall health of the eyes.  Sometimes the drusen are actually on the optic nerve head, so again I'm not really sure what you have.  Putting that aside, you are generally very young to have drusen of the retina, if indeed that is what  you have. You should have a consultation with an ophthalmologist in your area to discuss exactly what you have and what your prognosis is and what you can do to keep your eyes as healthy as possible.  Drusen themselves are not a terrible thing or problem but they can be a sign of serious eye diseases like macular degeneration.

Michael Kutryb, MD
Kutryb Eye Institute
Titusville, FL