What is Low Vision?
Low vision is a vision problem that makes it hard to do everyday activities. It can’t be fixed with glasses, contact lenses, or other standard treatments like medicine or surgery.
You may have low vision if you can’t see well enough to do things like:
- Read
- Drive
- Recognize people’s faces
- Tell colors apart
- See your television or computer screen clearly
What are the types of low vision?
The type of low vision that you have depends on the disease or condition that caused your low vision. The most common types of low vision are:
- Central vision loss (not being able to see things in the center of your vision)
- Peripheral vision loss (not being able to see things out of the corners of your eyes)
- Night blindness (not being able to see in low light)
- Blurry or hazy vision
What causes low vision?
Many different eye conditions can cause low vision, but the most common causes are:
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
- Cataracts
- Diabetic retinopathy(a condition that can cause vision loss in people with diabetes)
Low vision is more common in older adults because many of the diseases that can cause it are more common in older adults. Aging doesn’t cause low vision on its own.
Eye and brain injuries and certain genetic disorders can also cause low vision.
How will my eye doctor check for low vision?
Your doctor can check for low vision as part of a dilated eye exam. The exam is simple and painless. Your doctor will ask you to read letters that are up close and far away, and will check whether you can see things in the center and at the edges of your vision.
Then, they will give you some eye drops to dilate (widen) your pupil and check for other eye problems — including conditions that could cause low vision.
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