You and Your Sight
Finding out more about your eye condition
There are many different causes of sight loss and they show themselves in various ways. You may for instance lose your central vision or side vision. You may have patchy or blurred vision. You may see only light and dark, or rarely have total loss of sight.
Leaflets and publications about different eye conditions, such as Cataracts, Macular Disease and Glaucoma are available from The Society for the Blind or from the Royal National Institute for the Blind.
Specialist Organisations
There are many different organisations set up to help people with specific eye conditions. These organisations can give you more detailed advice for example:
The Macular Disease Society§
(National and Local)
The International Glaucoma Society§
The British Diabetic Society§
There are also organisations set up to help specific groups of people, for example parents of visually impaired children, people who have sight and hearing loss, computer users, teachers etc. Ask at the Society for the Blind for more information.
Making the most of your remaining sight
The more you use your remaining sight the more useful it is likely to become. Using it will not cause damage or make it deteriorate more quickly. Good Ophthalmic advice, the right equipment, good lighting, good contrast plus determination can all contribute to making the best use of your remaining vision.
Low Vision Aids such as magnifiers, bookstands and extra lighting may all be helpful.
Magnifiers come in many different strengths and types such as hand or stand also spectacle mounted or telescopes etc. Different types may be needed depending on the task you want to do. For example, you may need a hand held magnifier for reading and a telescope for viewing street signs or bus numbers.
Electronic Aids are the most powerful type of magnification, up to 40x, but are the most expensive.
A TV Reader can be tuned into a television set, and its hand held camera placed onto the print to be read. This then appears on the TV screen in a much-enlarged form
Where to get low vision aids
On loan – The Hospital Eye Service can provide magnifiers on long-term loan through their Low Vision Clinic. Ask your Doctor or Consultant if a referral is appropriate.
To buy – Some high street opticians stock magnifiers and will give you advice. If you are registered blind or partially sighted then you qualify for a free eye test and should take advantage of this to make sure that your spectacles are the most suitable for you.
The Society for the Blind now has a demonstration kit of low vision aids.
Lighting
Most visually impaired people can see better if they can work in good light. Good lighting should be bright but without glare or dazzle.
General Lighting
Natural daylight is a very good source of light – you can make the best use of this by removing net curtains and sitting near the window. Having walls and ceiling painted in a light matt finish will maximise natural light.
Use 100-watt bulbs in central light fittings and have a light coloured shade, which is wider at the bottom than at the top.
Try to keep lighting levels constant throughout the house when moving from room to room.
Task Lighting
Supplement general lighting with direct light from an adjustable lamp when doing close work. A fluorescent angle-poise type lamp can provide extremely good levels of light without getting hot. Some people find bright light difficult.
Experiment in your own home to find the most suitable place and level of lighting for you. Even the time of day can make a difference. Some people see better in the morning and some in the evening – so do experiment and persevere to find what is best for you.
Using Colour Contrast
You can help yourself to see better, by making objects as visible as possible. This can be done by careful use of colour. A white plate sitting on a white tablecloth would be very difficult to see, but change the tablecloth to dark blue and the plate would be instantly more visible.
This applies in many situations, for instance a glass of water merges into a light coloured background so take care when you put it down.
Some people use the ‘three B’s” – make things Bigger, Bolder and Brighter.
Use a black felt tip pen for writing notes, letters etc. Persuade family and friends to do this for you as well.
Use Dycem mats in the kitchen – these are a vivid blue colour and have a tacky surface and can be used in all sorts of situations where colour contrast will help. A dark orange chopping board is useful when cutting up light coloured foods, a white one for darker foods.
These are just a few examples of making things easier to see and making the most of your sight.
Coping with Glare
Bright light can be a problem for many people; you may prefer a dull day to a bright sunny one. If so, wearing UV shield wraparound sunglasses may help. These can be worn over ordinary glasses if you wear them. They have side and top pieces, which stop light entering from all directions and can be more effective than ordinary dark glasses. You can try these out at The Society for the Blind.
Some eye conditions mean that it takes several minutes for your eyes to adjust to different levels of light, bear this in mind when trying out any sunglasses.
Aids and Equipment
There are many different pieces of equipment, which you may find helpful. The Society for the Blind has over 100 different things from needle threaders at around £1.00 to a talking microwave at £195.00.
For example:
Kitchen Scales§
Writing Frames§
Signature Guides§
Talking Clocks§
Watches§
Large print crossword books§
Playing cards§
Bingo cards§
Calendars§ & Diaries
Coin holder for 10p to £2§
Please feel free to come and see what is available, do not feel obliged to buy anything – you can simply have a look at things and try them out.
Rail Travel
Blind and partially sighted people can buy a Disabled Persons Railcard, which gives discounts of 1/3rd for themselves and a companion. The leaflet ‘British Rail and the Disabled Traveller’ gives information about the Railcard and help available at stations when travelling by train. Contact The Society for the Blind or your local railway station.
Parking Concession / Blue Badge Scheme
If you are registered blind or partially sighted but with walking difficulties you can apply for a Disabled Persons Car Badge. This entitles the driver of the car you are travelling in to certain parking concessions.
To apply, contact:
Blue Badge Section
Social Services Information Point
Town Hall Way,
Dewsbury WF12 8LQ, Tel: 01924 325070.
Or:
The Society for the Blind
The Whitfield Centre,180 Soothill Lane, Batley WF17 6HP. Tel: 01924 445222.
Radar Keys
For use in Disabled Persons toilets. They are available from Social Services Information Point – as above. There is an equipment shop on the same premises.
Equipment is available for general disabilities. For information on goods to purchase, Tel: 01924 325070.
Holidays
Holidays organised by the Society for the Blind.
Activity Holidays
Up-to-date information on holidays can be obtained from the RNIB who produce an annual information pack.
