Low Vision
Low vision is a visual condition in which a person experiences a significant reduction in visual capacity.
Low vision is defined as any degree of visual impairment that significantly limits what a person can see, and this limitation cannot be improved with glasses, contact lenses, medical treatment, or surgery.
This visual limitation prevents the person from carrying out daily activities in a normal way.
The causes of low vision are mostly eye diseases: age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, high (pathological) myopia, retinal detachment, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, among others. However, it may also be caused by congenital, progressive, or accidental conditions, neurological injuries, and infectious diseases.
There are many symptoms that patients may experience, either individually or in combination: blurred or patchy vision, glare, night blindness, tunnel vision, loss of contrast, and altered color vision.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), visual function is divided into four levels: normal vision, moderate visual impairment, severe visual impairment, and blindness.
Moderate and severe visual impairment are grouped under the term LOW VISION.
Low vision is diagnosed when visual acuity is between 0.3 and 0.1 and/or the visual field is less than or equal to 30° in the better eye.
The first step is to be evaluated by an ophthalmologist in order to achieve the best possible vision recovery, whether through conventional glasses, contact lenses, medical treatment, or surgery.
A comprehensive low vision assessment is then performed. In cases where the patient retains some useful vision, they may benefit from the adaptation of low vision aids, as a complement to the medical and surgical treatments received.
Before adapting low vision aids, it is important to assess and train certain abilities. This process is known as visual rehabilitation, which aims to make the most of the remaining vision. Visual rehabilitation helps patients better adapt to their environment and make more effective use of visual aids.
These low vision aids must be prescribed and fitted by a low vision specialist, based on the patient’s remaining vision and the visual tasks they wish to perform.