According to the American Macular Degeneration Association, macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss, affecting more than 10 million Americans. This makes it even more common than cataracts and glaucoma combined. All of these conditions can lead to blindness, but not all of their progression can be reversed. Macular degeneration causes vision loss in the center of your field of vision. Once it’s gone, there’s no getting that vision back. This is a painless disorder that can affect either eye.

There are countless conditions and diseases that can target the eyes and affect your ability to see. Once damaged, can your eyes be healed once more? There are many common conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, nearsightedness, farsightedness and more that our patients struggle with. Some conditions that involve eye damage or vision damage can be reversed while others can’t.

Glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye conditions where the optic nerve is damaged at the point where it leaves the eye. Chronic glaucoma often has no symptoms and the eye may seem normal. It also isn’t painful and at first; your vision may seem normal. However, you will start to notice changes in your vision, especially your peripheral (side) vision.