Aug. 9, 2010 | The term “low vision” is used to describe a significant visual impairment that cannot be corrected with standard glasses, contact lenses, medicine or eye surgery. Low vision includes different degrees of sight loss, from blind spots to an almost complete loss of sight. The American Optometric Association defines low vision two ways, partially sighted and legally blind. A partially sighted person has visual acuity between 20/70 and 20/200 with conventional prescription lenses. A legally blind person has visual acuity no better than 20/200 with conventional correction and or a restricted field of vision less than 20 degrees wide. The ratio measurement of vision describes visual acuity, or the sharpness of vision, at 20 feet from an object. For example, having 20/70 vision means that you must be at 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at 70 feet. It is estimated that 17 percent of people over the age of 65 are either blind or have low vision.

Aug. 9, 2010 | According to the Jones Eye Institute at UAMS, about 135 million Americans have low vision. Although low vision can occur at any stage in life, it primarily affects the elderly. However, low vision is not a natural part of aging. Although most people experience some physiological changes with age, these changes usually do not lead to low vision. Most people develop low vision because of eye diseases. The common causes of low vision, particularly with older adults, include macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. Age-related macular degeneration accounts for almost 45 percent of all cases of low vision. When vision impairment is recognized early, treatment can be more effective, enabling people to maintain as much independence as possible. If you think you have low vision, you should talk to an eye care professional who can tell the difference between normal changes in the aging eye and those caused by eye diseases.

Aug. 9, 2010 | Do you find that you have trouble recognizing the faces of friends and relatives, even when you are wearing your glasses? Is it difficult to do certain things at home or work, such as reading, cooking or sewing, because the lights seem dimmer than they used to be? Do you have a problem picking out and matching the colors of your clothes? Is reading street signs or billboards hard to do? If so, you may have low vision, a problem that affects a large portion of the American population over the age of 65. Vision changes like these should not be disregarded as they could be early warning signs of eye disease. Usually, the earlier the problem is diagnosed, the better the chance of the patient undergoing successful treatment and keeping their remaining vision. Regular dilated eye exams should be part of your routine health care. However, if you think your vision has recently changed, you should see your eye care professional as soon as possible.

Aug. 9, 2010 | Anyone can be affected by low vision because it results from a variety of conditions and injuries. Because of age-related disorders like macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts, low vision is more common in adults that are over age 45, and even more common in adults over age 75. For example, one in six adults over the age of 45 has low vision and one in four adults over the age of 75 has it. Low vision may be preventable for patients with diabetes and reversible through surgery for those whose vision loss is caused by cataracts. An eye exam by an eye care specialist is the best possible means of diagnosing this very serious condition. You should make an appointment with your eye doctor if your vision difficulties are preventing you from daily activities like travel, cooking, work, and school. The tests the eye doctor will perform include the use of lighting, magnifiers, and special charts to help test visual acuity, depth perception, and visual field.

Aug. 9, 2010 | Each type of low vision problem requires a different therapeutic approach. Some sight disorders, like diabetic retinopathy, can be treated to restore or maintain a person’s vision. When this is not possible, low vision is permanent. However, many people with low vision find visual aids helpful. Some of the more popular visual aids include telescopic glasses, lenses that filter light, magnifying glasses, closed-circuit television and reading prisms. Special software has been developed to either display computer data in large print or read the material aloud in a synthetic voice. These adaptive low vision devices let partially sighted people do the same computer-related tasks as fully sighted people, such as creating and using spreadsheets and viewing Web pages online. Visual aids improve both sight and the quality of life for many people. If you or someone you know has a problem with low vision, talk to your doctor about where to purchase these visual aids.