Theme | Subtheme | Quote |
Visual distortion (n=87/217) (wet=62, dry=18, not specified=7) | Distorted vision (n=22) | (w)‘started to notice distortion in left eye vision’#52 (d)‘I noticed distortion around edges of things & blurring of faces etc.’#669 |
Distorted/wavy lines (n=65) | (d)‘I saw wavy lines where I knew it should be straight for example, door frames etc.’ #70 (w)‘noticed tiled floor in bathroom had wavy lines when viewed from right eye…’ #191 | |
Deterioration/loss of visual acuity (n=83/217) (wet=47, dry=19, not specified=17) | Blurred vision (n=45) | (d)‘slightly blurred vision and difficulty in reading road signs etc’#979 (w)’blurred vision generally’ #804 |
Deterioration in vision (n=20) | (d)‘finding my sight had deteriorated too much to drive my car’ #1001 (w)‘I noticed a slight general deterioration in my sight- thought I may need new glasses.’ #637 | |
Loss of vision (n=8) | (n/s)‘overnight sudden loss of vision’ #1409 (w)’loss of vision when reading…’ #1092 | |
Loss of visual acuity (n=10) | (n/s)‘sight was not as sharp and did not focus properly’ #178 (w)’…didn’t have clarity of vision’ #989 | |
Difficulty with activities due to AMD symptoms (n=34/217) (wet=15, dry=17, not specified=2) | Difficulty with activities including reading, facial recognition, writing and driving. | (d)‘unable to read a notice at a hospital visit, which made me go & seek advice’ #685 (w)‘I was unable to see to read or write and had to be shown where to sign a cheque’ #1076 (w)‘I could not judge traffic when driving one day’#295 (d)‘not able to distinguish people’#986 |
Central-field defects (scotomas) (n=34/217) (wet=23, dry=6, not specified=5) | Black spots (n=25) | (n/s)‘I had a black patch in the centre of my left eye’ #119 (w)’saw black patches on white wall’ #715 |
Blind spots (n=4) | (d)‘became aware of blind spots for example, knew the chair facing me had 2 arms but could only see one’ #818 (w)‘Noticed broken up images in left eye.’ #726 | |
Loss of central vision (n=5) | (w)‘central vision in right eye disappeared’ #254 | |
Symptoms not indicative of AMD (n=19/217) (wet=13, dry=2, not specified=4) | Including discomfort/pain in eyes, eyes didn’t line up, double vision, transient loss of vision, black web across vision, shadows in vision and flashing lights. | (d)‘my eyes were sore…’ #1275 (w)‘…my eyes didn’t line up properly’ #571 (w)‘double vision’ #902 (w)‘loss of sight on waking for 1 min…’ #441 (w)‘I noticed a big black circle in my eye like a spiders web’ #1393 (d)‘grey shadows across my vision (left eye)’ #619 |
Symptoms misattributed to another eye condition (n=13/217) (wet=9, dry=3, not specified=1) | (w)‘…At first I therefore thought it was a cataract and deemed ok to leave for a while’ #413 (n/s)‘thought it was connected to the glaucoma’ #956 (w)‘sudden alteration of vision in left eye- thought initially was an eye infection’ #894 | |
Difficulty with dark adaptation/glare (n=11/217) (wet=7, dry=4) | Poor dark adaptation (n=7) | (d)‘difficulty seeing in dark situations. See a white object in a poor light but unable to see it to pick it up…’ #987 (w)‘eyes took a long while to adjust to different lighting conditions’#168 |
Increased glare (n=4) | (w)‘whilst driving at night street lights & car lights seemed twice normal size at a distance’ #682 (d)‘eyes were light sensitive’ #384 |
#number = respondent ID code.
This table includes the themes cited by >6 respondents.
(d), respondent with dry AMD; (n/s), not specified; (w), respondent with wet AMD.