I have a friend who is 36 years old, and has high blood pressure which has been untreated for more than one year (loss of insurance to be reinstated in one month). Both eyes show distortion on the Amsler Grid. About a year ago he developed his first blind spot in the right eye. It was small, flame-shaped and clearly delineated. He can't see anything through it. If he is looking at a white background with a black marking, the black marking disappears and is white. When reading, a few letters disappear to just above and to the left of his central focus. About six months ago more blind spots appeared, scattered around central focus.
About six or seven months ago spots started to appear in his left eye. They started as smudges. Shape not as clear as the right eye, more like a large cloud. At first could only see through the edges of it, The cloud shrank and he could see though most of it, but it was very fuzzy and the image was distorted. there are other, smaller spots scattered around central focus.
Is this macular degeneration, or something else as well? Isn't it odd for someone so young to have this problem? Could it be related to a blood pressure which is high enough to cause concern? Many thanks for your reply.
Dr. O.