Eye Care for the Adirondacks-Low Vision

Low Vision

Low vision is the term eye doctors use to describe vision impairment from conditions such as macular degeneration for which there is currently no cure. Devices such as magnifiers, telescopes and closed-circuit television are designed to help the partially sighted enjoy a quality of life with minimal compromise.

Low vision is a term commonly used among eyecare professionals to mean partial sight, or sight that isn't fully correctable with surgery, pharmaceuticals, contact lenses, or glasses. Low vision can range from some vision impairment, such as tunnel vision or blind spots, to "legal blindness," to almost total blindness.
Low vision has a variety of causes, including eye injury, diseases, and heredity. Sometimes low vision involves a lack of acuity, meaning that objects do not come into focus. Other times, it involves the ability to distinguish colors, see contrasts, or determine spatial relationships among objects.
Vision can be hazy with cataracts; blurred or partially obscured in the central visual zone with macular degeneration; and distorted or blurred with diabetic retinopathy. People with glaucoma or retinitis pigmentosa can lose peripheral vision and have difficulty seeing at night.

General Sites for Low Vision Resources

North Country Association for the Visually Impaired

Lighthouse International

NYS Commission For The Blind And Visually Handicapped

American Council for the Blind - Guild Dog Schools

General Sites for Conditions That Can Cause Low Vision

Prevent Blindness America

American Diabetes Association

AMD Alliance International for information on age related macular degeneration

The Glaucoma Foundation

National Eye Institute

Low Vision Magnifying Equipment

Enhanced Vision - Low Vision Product Liney