What Is Low Vision?

Low Vision is a condition that exists when an individual’s remaining vision leaves them unable to maintain the previous level of visual activity, due to the onset of eye disease or traumatic injury. Low vision is the residual visual acuity of the eye after correction with eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Low vision is caused by many conditions, but the most common are:

Age-related macular degeneration
Diabetic retinopathy
Glaucoma
Cataracts
Other

Low Vision treatment is often delivered by a Low Vision Specialist through the management of three variables:

Illumination, Magnification and Education.

Illumination is the low vision patient’s best friend. Most people with low vision find that additional lighting helps greatly in accomplishing visual tasks. Why? Because adding illumination helps to enhance the contrast of the objects in view. Think of the difficulty we all have viewing objects in a dark room. Turning on the lights allows us to see with greater success. The same principle applies to reading newspaper print. Adding illumination makes it easier to distinguish letters on the page.

Eschenbach is the leader in incorporating high-quality light sources into products for the visually impaired. Visit our Product Catalog to see the many options or Ask the Doctor for more information.

Magnification is an often employed as therapy for those with low vision because a most common result of low vision is blind spots or blocked out areas within the users’ field of view. These blind spots, called scotomas, represent obstacles that prevent the patient from identifying the object that is within view. By magnifying the object to be viewed, these scotomas become less of a barrier in recognizing the objects.

Eschenbach is recognized as the world's leading manufacturer of magnifying products for the visually impaired, with over 80 years of experience. Visit the section on Why Magnification? and Types of Magnifiers to learn more.

Education refers to training and counseling that your Low Vision Specialist will provide to you. Training will involve teaching new ways to accomplish familiar daily tasks made difficult by your vision loss. It may also involve instruction in the use of Low Vision Devices, which are the tools that provide magnification, illumination, or other assistance. Eschenbach has been offering education and training assistance to low vision care providers for over 20 years.