Few events are more disturbing than significant loss of vision, especially if the lost vision cannot be recovered. This is often the case with many people suffering from low vision — but if you’re one of them, don’t despair. Proper treatment can help you retain the vision you still have, while a variety of assistive devices can help you continue to enjoy a fulfilling and productive life. Either optometrist here at Eye Care Center Mooresville, Dr. Ed Mills and Dr. Christopher Mills, can provide you with the compassionate care you need.
Common Causes of Low Vision
While many cases of vision loss are relieved or at least compensated for with corrective lenses, medication or surgery, others can be permanent in nature, robbing you of some degree of your eyesight. Conditions that may result in low vision include:
- Glaucoma, a destruction of the optic nerve that damages first peripheral vision and then central vision, possible causing total blindness
- Macular degeneration, damage to the part of the retina that controls central vision, producing not total blindness but blind spots in the center of your visual field
- Diabetic retinopathy, a progress loss of vision that occurs when high blood sugar damages blood vessels and causes bleeding inside the eye
- Retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that affects the rods and cones in the retina, producing loss of peripheral and night vision
These diseases all cause permanent damage that cannot be reversed or cured by current medical science. (Cataracts also cause low vision by blocking or distorting incoming light, but they can be surgically removed to restore normal eyesight.) Low vision is considered to be visual acuity that can’t be improved beyond 20/70 acuity in the better of your two eyes. Vision of 20/200 or worse in that eye is categorized as legal blindness.
How Your Mooresville Optometrist Can Help
If you’ve lost significant vision, you’re understandably upset, frightened and frustrated. But it’s important to take control of your condition as best you can and actively work toward maintaining your best possible eyesight. Even conditions that cause irreparable vision loss can often be slowed or arrested through prompt, thorough treatment at our optometry center. For instance, your Mooresville optometrist can prescribe medication to ease the intraocular pressure that typically worsens glaucoma. Injectable drugs can also get macular degeneration under control. We may also recommend medical, nutritional and lifestyle changes such as diabetes treatment to slow diabetic retinopathy.
To help you get the best use from your remaining vision, our Mooresville optometry center can help you select the right low vision aids for your needs. These may include handheld magnifiers, text-to-speech or magifying computer aids, special lighting and telescopic devices.