Low Vision Awareness Month
With people in the United States living longer, eye diseases and vision loss have become major public health concerns. By 2030, when the last baby boomers turn 65, this number is projected to reach 7.2 million, with 5 million having low vision.
If you are a caregiver for an elderly person with low vision, there are some things you can do to both ease your burden and help them deal with a very serious and life changing affliction.
Proper Lighting is a crucial element in helping someone with Low vision. Lights should be placed directly overhead to maximize the useful illuminated zone. This also helps prevent it from shining directly in their eyes which forces the eye to constantly readjust. Its also a good idea to equalize the light in a room so it is even and has as little contrast as possible between light and dark spaces. Reducing glare and reflection by covering shiny objects and closing blinds on windows will also help your patient as they go about their daily lives.
Magnification tools are an essential part of someone with low vision’s life. Whether it be a small pocket magnifier or Electronic magnification units. If your out with you’r client try to remain patient and let them use the tools they have to read restaurant checks, receipts or price tags instead of doing it for them. This will help promote independence and maintain dignity and a sense of being able to cope with their ailment. There are also a number of electronic devices that use cameras or telescopic devices for use at home for reading books and seeing long distance such as seeing a T.V. An old tried and true solution is to provide books and reading material with oversized print.
One of the most helpful things you can do is to provide tactile and visual aids around the house to help them distinguish similar things. This could be by placing different numbers of rubber bands around similar containers in the fridge, putting felt patches on different remotes, or using bright colored labels if they have some vison left.
Finally, the most important thing you can do as a caregiver is to make sure you don’t leave things out of place. People with low vision often rely on things being in a specific place or even more important, things not being there, such as trip hazards like chairs and open cabinet doors. As a caregiver you can make a big difference in someone’s life who is struggling with low vision.