Low vision is a term commonly used among eye care professionals to mean partial sight, or sight that isn't fully correctable with surgery, medications, contact lenses, or glasses. Mark Wilkinson, OD, director of vision rehabilitation services at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, talks about low vision and current treatment:

Are people identified with low vision diagnosed with tunnel vision, blind spots, or possibly legally blind?

Low vision typically indicates that vision is reduced. People can have visual field loss associated with that as well. They can have tunnel vision; they can have significant blind spots, not just floaters in their vision. Legal blindness is a definition we use in the U.S., a vision of less than 2100 or a visual field of less than 20 degrees.

What causes low vision?

The foremost common causes of low vision in the U.S. are age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy. But you can also have conditions such as albinism or optic nerve damage that people can be born with. For the most part, the conditionsI mentioned are things that come with age.

Is there a typical patient who is diagnosed with low vision?

It's more of the older people who have vision loss from the previously mentioned conditions.

If there is no medical treatment available (no surgery, medications, or glasses), how is low vision treated?

We treat low vision the same way that we would treat somebody who has experienced some other loss of function. For instance after a stroke, or an amputation, they would be sent for rehabilitation, where they would be fit with devices and learn alternate or new techniques to do things. In the same way, we do that with vision loss. We use magnification devices, electronic devices, computer-assistance devices, to help people maximize their remaining vision or learn alternate ways to do things; using their sense of touch or their sense of hearing.

Are there tips given to people with low vision to help throughout their day?

The first thing is to make sure that they have the best glasses. Even though their vision is reduced, glasses can still help them see better in the distance, and possibly up close. We want to make sure they have appropriate task lighting for different things they want to do each day because lighting is critical for all of us to do our best. We want to make sure they have the necessary devices to enhance their distance, intermediate and near vision, for the various tasks they want to do.

Are there new or existing products on the market for people with low vision diagnoses?

Fortunately, we've got some great new medical treatments that are coming out, particularly for treating the wet form of macular degeneration. There are some injections that not only stabilize vision, but enhance vision. There's a great deal at work on genetic therapy, as well as gene-directed therapy, to help people function better. There's a variety of new electronic magnification devices and computer software programs that can help people function better despite reduced vision—so many new things on the market.

If someone wanted to learn more about low vision treatment and products, who would they contact?

They should contact the Vision Rehabilitation Service at UI Department of Ophthalmology, and our number is 319-356-8301.

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Mark Wilkinson, OD

Vision Rehabilitation Service