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12-07-2006, 09:10 PM
How to Cope with Low Vision
By Liz Segre
Low vision is a term commonly used among eyecare professionals to mean partial sight, or sight that isn't fully correctable with surgery, pharmaceuticals, contact lenses or glasses. Low vision includes moderate vision impairment, such as tunnel vision or blind spots. It also includes legal blindness and almost total blindness.
Low vision has a variety of causes, including eye injury, diseases and heredity. Sometimes low vision involves a lack of acuity, meaning that objects do not come into focus. Other times, it involves the ability to distinguish colors, see contrasts or determine spatial relationships among objects.
Vision can be hazy with cataracts, blurred or partially obscured in the central visual zone with macular degeneration, and distorted or blurred with diabetic retinopathy. People with glaucoma or retinitis pigmentosa can lose peripheral vision and have difficulty seeing at night.
Children as well as adults can be visually impaired, sometimes as a result of a birth defect or but it is mostly a problem that afflicts seniors. Vision loss can be very traumatic, leading to frustration and depression. Many lose their jobs: according to Lighthouse International, among Americans age 21 to 64 who are visually impaired, only 43.7% are employed; among people in this age group without such disability, 80% are employed.
The flexible Jordy offers two low vision devices in one: a desktop and portable video magnifier.
When a child has severe vision problems, it is very important to visit a low vision doctor who can prescribe the best low vision aids, such as these magnifying bifocal lenses from Zeiss. Ignoring a child's visual needs will result in poor performance in school. Photo courtesy of Vision Advantage, Inc.
Not being able to drive safely, read quickly, or view a television or computer screen easily causes many people with low vision to feel shut off from the world. They may be unable to get around town independently, earn a living, or even shop for food and other necessities. Some visually impaired people become completely dependent on friends and relatives, while others suffer alone.
That's a shame, because many ingenious low vision devices and strategies exist to help people overcome vision impairment and live independently. The first step is to visit an eye doctor who specializes in low vision care. He or she can evaluate the degree and type of vision loss, prescribe appropriate low vision aids such as magnifiers, telescopes, and video magnifiers, and train the patient to use them.
A specialist can also recommend non-optical adaptive devices, such as large-face printed material, audio tapes, special light fixtures, and signature guides for signing checks and documents. Just as importantly, low vision specialists can provide referrals to counselors, who can help low vision patients cope with their new life situation.
If you are having any difficulty seeing — hazy or blurred vision, light sensitivity, loss of peripheral vision, night blindness, a need for more light than before, color confusion, unusual floaters or spots or difficulty in reading — see an eyecare professional for a complete exam. These could be the first signs of a serious eye disease such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, or retinitis pigmentosa; or they could mean that you have a cataract that needs removal. Either way, you need to take action before further vision loss occurs.
By Liz Segre
Low vision is a term commonly used among eyecare professionals to mean partial sight, or sight that isn't fully correctable with surgery, pharmaceuticals, contact lenses or glasses. Low vision includes moderate vision impairment, such as tunnel vision or blind spots. It also includes legal blindness and almost total blindness.
Low vision has a variety of causes, including eye injury, diseases and heredity. Sometimes low vision involves a lack of acuity, meaning that objects do not come into focus. Other times, it involves the ability to distinguish colors, see contrasts or determine spatial relationships among objects.
Vision can be hazy with cataracts, blurred or partially obscured in the central visual zone with macular degeneration, and distorted or blurred with diabetic retinopathy. People with glaucoma or retinitis pigmentosa can lose peripheral vision and have difficulty seeing at night.
Children as well as adults can be visually impaired, sometimes as a result of a birth defect or but it is mostly a problem that afflicts seniors. Vision loss can be very traumatic, leading to frustration and depression. Many lose their jobs: according to Lighthouse International, among Americans age 21 to 64 who are visually impaired, only 43.7% are employed; among people in this age group without such disability, 80% are employed.
The flexible Jordy offers two low vision devices in one: a desktop and portable video magnifier.
When a child has severe vision problems, it is very important to visit a low vision doctor who can prescribe the best low vision aids, such as these magnifying bifocal lenses from Zeiss. Ignoring a child's visual needs will result in poor performance in school. Photo courtesy of Vision Advantage, Inc.
Not being able to drive safely, read quickly, or view a television or computer screen easily causes many people with low vision to feel shut off from the world. They may be unable to get around town independently, earn a living, or even shop for food and other necessities. Some visually impaired people become completely dependent on friends and relatives, while others suffer alone.
That's a shame, because many ingenious low vision devices and strategies exist to help people overcome vision impairment and live independently. The first step is to visit an eye doctor who specializes in low vision care. He or she can evaluate the degree and type of vision loss, prescribe appropriate low vision aids such as magnifiers, telescopes, and video magnifiers, and train the patient to use them.
A specialist can also recommend non-optical adaptive devices, such as large-face printed material, audio tapes, special light fixtures, and signature guides for signing checks and documents. Just as importantly, low vision specialists can provide referrals to counselors, who can help low vision patients cope with their new life situation.
If you are having any difficulty seeing — hazy or blurred vision, light sensitivity, loss of peripheral vision, night blindness, a need for more light than before, color confusion, unusual floaters or spots or difficulty in reading — see an eyecare professional for a complete exam. These could be the first signs of a serious eye disease such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, or retinitis pigmentosa; or they could mean that you have a cataract that needs removal. Either way, you need to take action before further vision loss occurs.