What is low vision?
Low vision is the vision suffered by people who have difficulties in their daily life due to visual disturbances that can become limiting. They usually have a visual acuity equal to or less than 0.3 or a visual field loss of less than 20 degrees.
Low vision can be characterized by a loss of visual acuity or visual field, loss of contrast sensitivity, abnormalities in color vision and night vision, and increased sensitivity to light.
In Spain there are approximately more than 2 million people with low vision, and only a minority of them would be attended by Ophthalmology professionals. The incidence of this pathology has increased a lot in the last decades, especially with the increase in life expectancy.
Prognosis of the disease
After being diagnosed with low vision, a good quality of life can be achieved by adjusting to the decrease.
In Spain there are approximately more than 2 million people with low vision.
Symptoms of low vision
The main symptoms that can alert us of low vision are:
- Blurred vision
- Reading with difficulty
- Inability to write
- Difficulty watching television
- Trouble driving
- Difficulty recognizing faces
Medical tests for low vision
To diagnose low vision, different tests are performed to determine the measurement of the following parameters:
- Distance and near visual acuity
- Refractive error
- Contrast sensitivity
- Reading speed
- Visual fields
- Color vision
- Glare sensitivity
What are the causes of low vision?
Low vision can be caused by different factors, among which we find:
- Diabetes
- Glaucoma
- Congenital defects
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Cataracts
- Macular degeneration
- Hereditary diseases
- Aging
Can it be prevented?
There is no specific prevention for low vision, but it is possible to take advantage of the areas of the retina that are in better condition to enhance them so that people with this pathology can function independently.
Treatments for low vision
Low vision cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or surgery. What is attempted is to improve the vision that has been diminished and enhance the rest of the vision, for example, learning new ways of reading and writing, performing different tasks, etc.
Which specialist treats it?
The specialist who treats low vision is the ophthalmologist.