Low Vision - Brenart Eye Clinic

WHAT IS LOW VISION?

It has been estimated that 20 million Americans, age 40 and older, suffer from some form of vision impairment, many of which are due to age-related eye diseases. As the population of our country grows older, those numbers will only increase.

Low vision is a condition in which vision cannot be corrected by glasses, contacts, surgery, or medicine. People who have low vision are said to be visually impaired or have irreversible vision loss and their vision impairment is usually caused by an underlying eye disease or congenital disorder. A variety of diseases and disorders that affect the eye (many age-related) can cause an individual to become visually impaired and these include Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma, Cataracts, Retinitis Pigmentosa, and Stargardt Disease, among others.

Having low vision is the third most commonly occurring physical impairment in those over 65, exceeded only by heart disease and arthritis. In the United States, estimates of those with low vision range from 3 million to over 32 million people. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of low vision, followed by other eye diseases, such as Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma and Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Many activities of daily living are restricted due to the central or peripheral field loss that occurs with eye diseases that cause vision loss. Patients may have difficulty reading, writing, watching television, spotting objects from a distance, recognizing people’s faces, and enjoying their favorite hobbies. They also have difficulty with mobility due to their vision loss which can lead to safety issues like falling. If not treated with low vision care, cognitive decline and mental health issues can also arise in those with a vision impairment.

Imagine trying to read the newspaper or a prescription label with a best-corrected acuity of 20/200 – nearly an impossible task! However, with the right vision aids and training, many Low Vision patients can once again perform their daily activities, thereby regaining much of their lost independence.

Fortunately, most people who are visually impaired can be helped with customized low vision care. This involves a comprehensive eye exam/evaluation and recommend solutions that include both optical and electronic magnification devices, contrast-enhancing eyewear as well as non-optical products such as task lighting. With these devices and care provided by a low vision professional, those with vision loss can maximize their remaining vision and overcome the limiting effects of their visual impairment so that they can again perform daily living tasks and remain as independent and safe as possible, thereby enjoying a high quality of life.

Eschenbach Optik is the leading source of low vision aids and magnification products in the world. Eschenbach has been manufacturing high quality optical products for over 90 years.

Eschenbach offers the largest range of high-quality magnification solutions, including magnifiers, telescopes, readers, absorptive filters and video magnifiers.