Good vision is a precious gift — and one that's easy to take for granted.
Imagine for a minute what life would be like if your vision was permanently impaired and could not be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or vision surgery. This is the situation many people find themselves in every day, suffering from what's called "low vision."
There are many ways to help someone with vision loss. You can take them shopping, do home repairs, or just hang out and be a friend.
Other terms often used to describe people with low vision are "partially sighted," "visually impaired" and "legally blind."
Causes of low vision include hereditary conditions, eye injuries and eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. Whatever the origin, low vision often causes depression and feelings of isolation and helplessness. [Read our article on how depression changes your vision.]
How You Can Help
If you have a friend or family member with low vision or know others in your community who are partially sighted, here are a few ways you can help them maintain their independence and get the most out of their remaining eyesight:
Help them learn about low vision aids. Special optical devices called low vision aids often can enable people to use their remaining vision more effectively and do things they thought were no longer possible.
These devices include customized magnifiers for reading and other near tasks, computerized text-to-speech devices and handheld or spectacle-mounted telescopes for seeing objects in the distance. Many are covered by health insurance.
You can help by arranging a visit to their eye care practitioner to learn which optical aids will provide the most benefit. (If the practitioner doesn't usually work in low vision, he or she may recommend a low vision specialist in the area.)
A low vision exam is different from a regular eye exam and typically involves follow-up visits to help the person with low vision use the prescribed vision aids effectively.
The practitioner also might suggest non-optical aids to help someone with low vision enjoy life more fully. Examples include audio books, large-print books and other large-print items, such as playing cards, clocks, phones and pillboxes.
READ NEXT: How to prepare your visually impaired child to start school
Low Vision News
The Most Common Problems For People With Low Vision
Trouble reading is the most commonly reported problem of people with low vision, regardless of the underlying cause of their vision loss, according to a study.
The Low Vision Rehabilitation Outcomes Study recruited 819 patients seeking low vision services at 28 clinical centers in the United States. Before their appointment, new patients were asked, "What are your chief complaints about your vision?"
Difficulty reading was the most common complaint, reported by 66.4 percent of patients. Other functional difficulties included driving (27.8 percent), using magnifiers and other vision aids (17.5 percent), mobility (16.3 percent), performing normal in-home activities (15.1 percent), problems associated with lighting and glare (11.7 percent), and trouble recognizing faces and engaging socially (10.3 percent).
The likelihood of reading difficulties increased mildly with age but did not differ significantly with changes in visual acuity. Women were more likely to report difficulty with in-home activities, facial recognition and social interactions, whereas men were more likely to report trouble driving and difficulties related to lighting. Mobility concerns, defined as difficulty walking and performing away-from-home activities, showed no relationship to gender, age or visual acuity.
The study authors concluded that since difficulty reading was the most common complaint, reading rehabilitation should be a cornerstone of low vision care. — G.H.
READ NEXT: How to create a home that accommodates visual impairment and blindness
Give them a hand and light up their life. A few easy adjustments to the living areas of a person with low vision can improve visibility and reduce the risk of a fall:
Make sure their home is well lit, with high-wattage light bulbs and additional lamps or task lighting. The kitchen, bathroom and work areas all should be fully and evenly illuminated.
Remove unnecessary household clutter. Offer to help with organizing important items and packing up others.
Create a list of important phone numbers in large print on bold-lined paper. Include doctors, transportation and emergency contacts, and put the list in a convenient place.
Mark stairs or slopes with brightly colored tape. Eye-catching colors that contrast with the flooring work best.
Suggest purchasing a large-screen television that produces high-contrast images.
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