He said one in four people still don’t take action despite 85 per cent being aware of the disease.

Peter Rose Optometrists are spreading the word in conjunction with the Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) for Macular Degeneration Awareness Week. 

“Checking your macular is about prolonging a quality of life as loss of vision often means you can’t live your life independently,” he said.

“The very early signs of macular degeneration can now be identified easily by modern technology, which enables the optometrist to see the retina at the back of the eye where the disease develops and detect early signs of the disease.

“With our demographic being mostly people of a retired age and with little public transport available to us a loss of vision would severely decrease the ability to do day-to-day tasks like read bills.”

Mr Rose said early diagnosis was the key.

“I see many people come in here with early signs and that only increases every decade as we live longer.

“Once you’re over 65 you should have your eyes checked every year and it is painless. These days, all it entails is a scan using a machine like this 3D Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scanner.”

Macular degeneration is Australia’s leading cause of severe vision loss and blindness and affects more than 1.15 million Australians over 50.

Risk factors for macular degeneration include being over the age of 50, a direct family history, and smoking. 

Diet and lifestyle practices such as eating dark, green, leafy vegetables, fresh fruit and fish is also recommended to maintain eye health. 

For more information call the MDFA on 1800 111 709 or visit www.mdfoundation.com.au.