Routine Eye Care for Geographic Atrophy: Why It Matters
Macular DegenerationUnderstanding and Managing Geographic Atrophy

Why Routine Eye Care Matters When You Have Geographic Atrophy

Why Routine Eye Care Matters When You Have Geographic Atrophy
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Published on September 11, 2025
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If you have geographic atrophy (GA), you’re likely already working with a retina specialist or low-vision specialist for treatment. But it’s also important to schedule regular eye exams with an optometrist or ophthalmologist.

These types of eye doctors can help your care team track the progression of GA, identify new treatment options, and catch other common age-related eye conditions that may crop up. Staying on top of routine eye care can also help protect your vision and improve your quality of life with GA.

Keep reading to learn more about how regular visits with an optometrist can help you manage GA, plus what to expect at your next visit.

How Routine Eye Exams Can Help With Geographic Atrophy

After you’ve been diagnosed with GA, your optometrist or ophthalmologist will still want to see you for regular checkups to:

  • Track the progression of GA. You may not always notice changes to your vision at first. “Usually, geographic atrophy progresses pretty slowly,” says Meenal Agarwal, OD, an optometrist at Dr. Meenal Agarwal & Associates in Toronto. But your optometrist or ophthalmologist can spot subtle changes and address them before they become more problematic.
  • Check for other vision issues. Other eye conditions may crop up alongside GA as you age, such as cataracts or glaucoma. Your optometrist or ophthalmologist can monitor you for these types of issues, says Dr. Agarwal.
  • Talk about your quality of life. With GA, you may feel resigned to not doing things you used to, but this shouldn’t be the case, says Agarwal. “Let your optometrist know about your lifestyle and the things you really enjoy doing,” she says.
  • Adjust your low-vision plan, if needed. Depending on the progression of GA — as well as how much your current management plan for low vision is helping — you may benefit from new gadgets or assistive devices to accommodate your vision.

What to Expect at a Routine Visit for Geographic Atrophy

During a routine eye exam, your optometrist or ophthalmologist will likely perform:

  • A Comprehensive Eye Exam “During a routine visit with someone who has GA, we’re doing everything that we do on someone who doesn’t have GA, such as checking your vision prescription and eye pressure,” says Agarwal. This can include a dilated eye exam to check your retina and macula. But rather than the standard eye chart testing, optometrists will perform functional vision testing to see how well you can perform everyday tasks, taking into account factors such as lighting.

  • An Amsler Grid Test You probably already have an Amsler grid — a paper with a checkerboard pattern and a dot in the middle — to use at home.

     With one eye closed, if the grid lines look blurry, that means your vision may have changed. It’s important to do this test on a daily basis to check for changes. Your optometrist or ophthalmologist will have you do the same test during each visit.
  • A Contrast Sensitivity Test People with GA also need to be tested for contrast sensitivity. “This is your ability to distinguish an object from its background,” says Agarwal. Monitoring contrast sensitivity can help detect vision changes and GA progression that can occur even when visual acuity (sharpness of vision) remains stable.

  • A Reading Speed Assessment The speed at which you can read helps your optometrist monitor how the current treatment plan is working and track the progression of GA.

  • Specialized Imaging Tests Your optometrist or ophthalmologist will likely perform other tests specific to GA progression. These include fundus autofluorescence, which captures images of the back of the eye to look for damaged cells, and optical coherence tomography, which scans the retina for GA lesions.

Come to your appointment prepared to discuss any specific challenges you’re having with your vision. And tell your doctor what you routinely do that you want to keep doing.

“Let’s say I have a geographic atrophy patient whose biggest thing is that she plays bingo every day, and she wants to see that bingo card,” says Agarwal. Simple assistive devices can help with this. These include large-print materials, magnifiers, and specialized lighting. Other options can include smart home technology, video magnifiers, and wearable devices.

How Often Should You See Your Optometrist or Ophthalmologist?

In general, people with GA should have an eye checkup every six months.

 But if your vision declines, you’ll need to go in more often, such as every three months, says Agarwal.

Work with your eye doctor to find the right schedule for you, based on the current stage of GA. How often you see your optometrist or ophthalmologist will depend on factors such as:

  • The rate of GA progression
  • The presence of any related eye conditions
  • The development of any new or worsening symptoms

Even if you feel like your symptoms haven’t changed, it’s still important to schedule and attend regular checkups. Because GA often progresses slowly, your optometrist or ophthalmologist is likely to spot any changes before you can — and address them proactively. “You don’t want to get to a stage where you can’t drive anymore or can’t see that bingo card,” says Agarwal.

The Takeaway

  • Even if you already see a retina specialist or low-vision specialist for GA, it’s still important to see your optometrist or ophthalmologist for regular checkups.
  • Routine eye exams help monitor GA and other aspects of your eye health to preserve your vision.
  • Work with your care team to determine how often you should schedule eye checkups. It may be every six months, or it might be more often, based on your individual circumstances.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Functional Vision Evaluation. Brain Vision Institute.
  2. Boyd K. Have AMD? Save Your Sight With an Amsler Grid. American Academy of Ophthalmology. May 3, 2023.
  3. Erickson KE. A Contrast Sensitivity Test Can Be Used to Track Geographic Atrophy Progression. American Academy of Ophthalmology. July 29, 2024.
  4. Wu Z et al. Reading Performance in Geographic Atrophy: Comparison of Different Reading Speed Measures for Capturing Longitudinal Changes. Ophthalmology Science. May–June 2025.
  5. Geographic Atrophy. Cleveland Clinic. April 5, 2023.
  6. Turbert D et al. Low Vision Assistive Devices. American Academy of Ophthalmology. September 17, 2024.
  7. 9 Tips for Living Well With Geographic Atrophy. Cleveland Clinic. April 16, 2024.
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Edmund Tsui, MD

Medical Reviewer

Edmund Tsui, MD, is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

He earned his medical degree from Dartmouth. He completed an ophthalmology residency at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he was chief resident, followed by a fellowship in uveitis and ocular inflammatory disease at the Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology at the University of California in San Francisco.

Dr. Tsui is committed to advancing the field of ophthalmology. His research focuses on utilizing state-of-the-art ophthalmic imaging technology to improve the diagnosis and monitoring of uveitis. He is a co-investigator in several multicenter clinical trials investigating therapeutics for uveitis. He is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed publications and has given talks at national and international conferences.

Along with his clinical and research responsibilities, Tsui teaches medical students and residents. He is on the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology's professional development and education committee, as well as the advocacy and outreach committee, which seeks to increase funding and awareness of vision research. He also serves on the editorial board of Ophthalmology and the executive committee of the American Uveitis Society.

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Erica Patino

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Erica Patino is a freelance writer and editor, content strategist, and usability specialist who has worked for a variety of online health outlets, including Healthline, Sharecare, and Twill Care. She was previously a senior editor at Everyday Health. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Hear 2 Tell, a website that covers advances in hearing loss treatment. Patino lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and twin sons.
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