Tools Help People Cope With Low Vision

by Debbe Geiger
Duke Medical Center
January 2009

What’s your most important sense? If you chose vision, you’re not alone. When the American Optometric Association asked 1,000 people the same question, they found that nearly half of adults worry more about losing their sight than losing their memory or their ability to walk or hear.

It’s easy to understand why when you consider that your vision is crucial to so many daily activities in life, from reading the mail, to cooking a meal to simply seeing what time it is.

Unfortunately, not everyone can accomplish those simple tasks. According to the National Eye Institute, more than 135 million worldwide have low vision, which means visual impairment not correctable by standard glasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery. It interferes with a person’s ability to perform those every day tasks that many take for granted.

Low vision can result from a variety of diseases, disorders and injuries that affect the eye. Age-related macular degeneration accounts for 45 percent of all cases, but glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and other conditions impact vision too.

Fortunately, a growing number of devices can help people live with the vision they have left. Cell phones can snap enlarged pictures of text to make things easier to read. Software can read emails and Internet pages out loud. Glasses can provide for sharper contrast, and special lenses can help musicians read music again.

Regular eye exams should pick up age-related diseases like macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts. An ophthalmologist or optometrist can catch signs of disease early on, and initiate treatment to halt or slow down its progression. That’s important, says Diane Whitaker, OD, an optometrist at Duke Eye Center in Durham and Director of Duke Eye Center’s Vision Rehabilitation Program. Because left untreated, eye diseases can seriously impact vision. "The more significant vision loss is, the more likely it is that patients feel depressed, socially unconnected, and fear losing their independence," she says.

Fortunately, the days when doctors tell their patients there’s nothing that can be done are long gone. Today, low vision specialists take a comprehensive approach. "We don’t just look at eyes," says Whitaker. "We look at the total person, and create a plan that covers all their goals and needs."

That includes analyzing their needs and identifying low vision tools that can help them live their lives to the best of their abilities. "These products can solve a lot of people’s problems," says Whitaker, but only if they’re tailored to individuals’ specific activities.

The Low Vision Rehab team educates its patients about the wide variety of tools now available, and trains them to use these tools in ways that will help make the most of the vision they’ve got left.

Portable electronic magnifiers can enlarge, freeze and manipulate images to make it easier to read the newspaper at home, food labels at the grocery store, or a menu in a dimly lit restaurant. Specially-designed electronic viewers simulate a 50-inch television at 10 feet. Equally useful but less sophisticated are glasses adapted with special amber-colored filters to cut blinding glare and enhance contrast.

Computer enthusiasts can learn to use software with voice prompts that announce which keys are being typed or which Web site is being accessed. And, craft enthusiasts may benefit from a computer-assisted camera that projects images from a painter’s easel, for example, onto a video screen so that hobbyists can return to their passions.

The Eye Center’s occupational therapists work with patients to ensure they can use the technology in their homes or as part of their daily lives. And, while many of these devices are expensive, the Low Vision team also offers patients resources that are within their financial range.

Tips to Maintain Good Eye Health

• Minimize exposure to bright lights by wearing sunglasses that block damaging UV rays.
• Eliminate glare and enhance contrast with amber-tinted glasses.
• Studies show that taking antioxidants including C, E, beta carotene and zinc may reduce the risks of developing cataracts and help some people avoid macular-degeneration vision loss.
• Get regular eye exams which can catch vision problems early on, and start treatment if needed.

Debbe Geiger is a senior media relations specialist in the Duke Medical Center, 919.684.4148, debbe.geiger@duke.edu . For more information on the Duke Eye Center Vision Rehabilitation Program, call 919.684.0569 or visit dukeeye.org.