Low vision is considered significant vision impairment that usually results from serious eye disease or an injury. The vision loss, which is characterized by either reduced visual acuity or reduced field of view, can’t be fully corrected with glasses, contact lenses, medication or surgery.
Low vision can affect both children and older individuals but is more common in the elderly, who are at greater risk of eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and cataracts, which are some of the most common causes vision loss.
What causes low vision and how does low vision affect eyesight?
Among the leading causes of low vision are heredity eye conditions, eye injury or brain injury, or eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, or retinitis pigmentosa. Vision loss can present loss of central vision, hazy or blurred vision, tunnel vision, loss of colour vision and contrast sensitivity, excessive glare, or a combination of visual changes.
How does low vision affect daily life?
With significant vision loss, it can become challenging to complete common daily tasks including reading, writing, cooking, and housework, watching television, driving, or even recognizing people.
A diagnosis of low vision can be difficult to process, especially when patients learn that standard eyeglasses can no longer fully correct their sight. It often takes time to adjust to living with impaired vision, but the good news is there are many tools, resources, and support systems available to help. Low vision can impact a person’s ability to work, drive, live independently, and engage in daily activities, often leading to feelings of frustration, isolation, or even depression. At Woodbine Optometry, we understand these challenges and are here to support our Calgary patients with personalized care, guidance, and access to helpful low vision aids and services.
Visual Rehabilitation and Visual Aids
At Woodbine Optometry, we’re here to support our patients every step of the way. We offer guidance on assistive devices such as handheld and electronic magnifiers, high-contrast lighting, screen readers, and specialized software that can enlarge or read digital text aloud.
We also provide referrals to low vision rehabilitation clinics such as the Sight Enhancement Clinic at the Rockyview General Hospital and local support services. Organizations such as the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) and Vision Loss Rehabilitation Alberta (VLRA) also offer valuable resources, including technology training, peer support, and mobility instruction, to help individuals regain confidence and live more independently.
Our goal is to help you make the most of your remaining vision through personalized care, practical solutions, and compassionate support.
Tips on how to make life with low vision easier
- Ensure that you have adequate lighting in your home. This may require some trial and error with different lights and voltages to determine what works best for you.
- Use a magnifier. There is a vast selection of magnifiers available, ranging from hand-held to stand magnifiers. Binoculars and spectacle mounted magnifiers are also an option.
- Your optometrist can recommend specialized lens tints for certain conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa or cataracts, which enhance vision or reduce light sensitivity.
- Use large print books for reading. Alternatively, try digital recordings or audiobooks.
- Make use of high contrast for writing. Try writing in large letters with a broad black pen on a white piece of paper or board.
- Adding a high-contrast stripe on steps (bright color on dark staircase, or black stripe on light stairs) can help prevent falls in people with low vision, and may enable them to remain independent in their home.
- Learn to use the many vision accessibility functionalities available in smart phones and on our desktop computer systems.
If you or a loved one is living with low vision, we encourage you to schedule a consultation with our low vision optometrist. Together, we’ll explore personalized strategies, tools, and resources to help improve daily functioning and overall quality of life.