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Low Vision Care

Wayne Smith Optometrists is one of the few optometry practices that practice low vision care. Low vision is a permanent loss of eyesight that cannot be improved with ordinary eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery.

What is low vision?

Low vision is a vision issue that makes it challenging to carry out daily tasks. It cannot be fixed with glasses, contact lenses, or other conventional medical or surgical procedures.

You may have low vision if you struggle to see well enough to do the following things:

  • Read
  • Drive
  • Recognize people’s faces
  • Tell colours apart,
  • See your television or computer screen clearly

What are the types of low vision?

Your disease or condition that led to your low vision will determine the sort of low vision you have. Low vision is most often one of the following types:

  • Central vision loss
  • Peripheral vision loss
  • Night blindness
  • Blurry or hazy vision

What causes low vision?

Many different eye conditions can cause low vision, but the most common causes include

  • Age-related macular degeneration
  • Cataracts
  • Diabetic retinopathy
  • Glaucoma

Low vision is more common in older adults because many of the eye diseases that cause it are more likely to develop with age. Ageing in itself does not cause low vision.

Eye and brain injuries and certain genetic disorders can also cause low vision.

How will my optometrist check for low vision?

As part of a dilated eye exam, your optometrist can assess whether you have low vision. The examination is easy and painless. To determine if you can see things in the centre and your peripheral vision, he will ask you to read letters up close and from a distance.

The optometrist will then administer some eye drops to widen your pupil and check for any additional eye issues, including those that can result in low vision.

How can I make the most of my remaining sight?

Sadly, low vision is usually irreversible. Although eyeglasses, medications, and surgery typically cannot cure low vision, they can occasionally help you see better, help you carry out daily tasks, or prevent your eyesight from deteriorating. In addition, numerous devices help you remain independent with low vision, including making things bigger and brighter, reducing the glare and increasing the contrast.

Various treatment choices are available depending on the particular eye issue that led to your limited vision. We will make recommendations that may enhance your vision or assist in preserving your remaining vision.

Don’t let low vision stop you from living your life, visit Wayne Smith Optometrists to learn how to manage your eye condition.

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Location50 Hennie Winterbach St, Panorama 7500