A North Carolina-based medical practitioner with nearly ten years of experience in the ophthalmic industry, Donnie Rhett Koonce serves as an ophthalmic technician at Charlotte Optometric Clinic. During the course of his career, Donnie Rhett Koonce served as an ophthalmic assistant at Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat, PA, where he assisted a local ophthalmologist with retinal disease research projects.
According to Medicalnewstoday.com, macular degeneration, a condition that is characterized by deterioration of the retina, is the leading cause of blindness among seniors in the United States. The retina is a light-sensitive part of the eye that sits behind the lens and iris. It captures light rays and relays visual information to the optic nerve for further processing. When this sensitive part of the eye becomes damaged, the decimation of central vision occurs, and affected individuals find themselves unable to read things clearly or recognize faces, in addition to other impaired abilities like driving that rely on sight.
There are two types of macular degeneration - dry macular degeneration and wet macular degeneration. Dry macular degeneration is the most common type and typically starts with mild symptoms that slowly worsen. On the other hand, Wet macular degeneration presents with more abrupt and severe symptoms. This is because it involves blood vessels developing in the wrong places inside the retina. Wet macular degeneration can present with severe vision loss that worsens quickly. Immediate treatment is critical in this case.
