What is Low Vision?

Low vision is used to refer to a visual impairment who has vision >20/70 or worse than that is not correctable through the surgery, glasses or contact lenses. It is partial often characterized by partial sight; such as blurred vision, blind spots or tunnel vision, but also includes legal blindness.

lowvisionaid

Causes of Low Vision – There are innumerable number of conditions that can lead to low vision. Some common disorders include the following:

  • Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
  • Diabetic Retinopathy
  • Advanced Glaucoma
  • Retinitis Pigmentosa
  • Atrophy of the Optic Nerve of the eye
  • Albinism
  • Nystagmus – when both eyes move in rapid jerks, involuntarily.

Symptoms

  • Decrease of central vision
  • Night blindness
  • Loss of peripheral vision
  • Blurred vision
  • Hazy vision

Low Vision Aids (LVA)

These are devices that can help people with visual disability see better for near and/or distance.

Magnifier

Various magnifying lenses/devices, including Dome, pocket, illuminated and electronic magnifiers can be used to provide better near vision for the clearer reading of magazines, newspapers, maps, documents and bills.

There is a large variety of telescopes including monocular and binocular telescopes, focusable and fixed designs, hand held and spectacle mounted –all with a diverse range of magnification, to help visual disabled patients with distance vision.