Spouse wearing mismatched clothes? It may not be bad fashion sense; instead low vision may be the cause

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Spouse wearing mismatched clothes? It may not be bad fashion sense; instead low vision may be the cause

Wearing clothes that don’t match, not being able to hit the glass when you pour milk, and not being able to see a car in the street are not amusing quirks, they could be warning signs of low vision. More than 14 million Americans have low vision caused by serious ocular conditions like macular degeneration or glaucoma, or medical conditions like diabetes or brain tumors.

“People with low vision do not see what someone with normal vision sees. Often black spots, cloudiness, and blurring affects vision,” says Dr. Michael Perez, president of the Minnesota Optometric Association. “Today we have many treatment options to help those suffering from low vision, including various types of magnifiers, mini-telescopes and electro-optical aids.”

According to the American Optometric Association, the two general classifications of low vision are being partially sighted (visual acuity with conventional prescription lenses is still between 20/70 and 20/200), and being legally blind (visual acuity that cannot be corrected to better than 20/200 with conventional lenses and/or the patient has a restricted field of vision less that 20 degrees wide).

If you or someone you love exhibits the following, it may indicate low vision.

Changes in the way a person reads, watches television, drives or walks, or if the person stops doing any of these activities.
Difficulty identifying faces or objects, or locating personal objects in a familiar setting.
Difficulty reading or performing other tasks with ordinary lighting.
Holding reading materials close to the face or at an angle.
Difficulty getting food onto a fork or pouring liquids into a cup without spilling.
Wearing clothing in unusual color combinations or difficulty recognizing colors.
Difficulty writing on the line or writing clearly.
More pronounced hearing loss as visual cues are lost.

More specific low vision symptoms include:

Loss of Central Vision – your view is blurred or blocked, but side (peripheral) vision remains intact. This makes it difficult to read or recognize faces and most details in the distance. Mobility, however, is usually unaffected because side vision remains intact.
Loss of Side Vision – typified by an inability to distinguish anything to one side or both sides, or anything directly above and/or below eye level. Central vision remains, however, making it possible to see what is directly ahead. Typically, loss of side vision affects mobility and slows reading speed because the person sees only a few words at a time. Sometimes referred to as "tunnel vision."
Blurred Vision – objects both near and far appear out of focus, even with the best conventional eyeglass correction possible and even when the target is very large.
Generalized Haze – the sensation of a film or glare that may extend over the entire viewing field and may produce various patterns or areas of relatively severe vision loss.
Extreme Light Sensitivity – exists when standard levels of illumination overwhelm the visual system, producing a washed out image and glare disability. People with extreme light sensitivity may actually suffer pain or discomfort from relatively normal levels of illumination.
Night Blindness – inability to see outside at night under starlight or moonlight, or in dimly lighted interior areas such as movie theaters or restaurants.

If you experience any of these symptoms, make an appointment for a comprehensive eye exam with your family eye doctor immediately. Do you need a doctor? Click here!

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