Adverse Effects of Low Vision on the Overall Health and Well-being of Seniors By Peter Mangola Rn Bsn

Adverse Effects of Low Vision on the Overall Health and Well-being of Seniors By Peter Mangola Rn Bsn

As much as professionals need to understand visual impairment and everything related to this type of age-related vision loss, so should caregivers seek to know as much as they can just how much visual impairment can affect an elderly’s everyday life.  Only by this can they give proper senior care to those who are visually impaired. Below are just some among the innumerable activities that are affected by low vision:

1. Effect on Everyday Activities: Those providing caregiving or companionship services must know that seniors see and receive light in a much different way from what they perceive. In fact, their eyes get considerably less light than younger eyes. This only means that they need to be in brighter settings than younger people. Inferior color discrimination also affects senior’s ability to identify their medications, which usually come in different colors but in similar shapes, and this may lead to serious medication mishaps. Other impacts of poor acuity on a senior’s ability to perform everyday activities include lack of ability to read labels on food and medical products, difficulty reading watches, clocks, phones, and television remote controls, as well as inability to write, and sew.
2. Effect on Driving: Lowered depth perception, decreased size of visual field and decreased visual attention can all affect the ability of a senior to drive safely. Elderly drivers are often faced with the challenge of reading signs while driving.
3. Social Activities: Low vision has psychological effects on seniors because they are usually afraid to get out of their homes. Studies show that adults with a visual impairment have difficulties moving about in new places. Likewise, low vision seniors have troubles interacting with people because of their reduced ability to recognize faces. This can worsen the social isolation that elderly people are already confronting.
4. Effects on Self-care: Ideally, an elderly person is capable of performing self-care which includes bathing, eating, dressing, grooming and moving about in his home. However, age-related visual impairment often interferes with these tasks. For instance, an elderly with inferior depth perception may not accurately judge how deep a bathtub can be which can lead to some serious injuries. As seniors move about their homes, their poor color discrimination can prevent them from seeing obstacles along their way. Poor contrast sensitivity can also reduce the ability of a senior to prepare his own meals, especially because most food labels are written in very fine prints.

The above effects of vision loss are some of the major areas in a senior’s life where they need the assistance and support of their loved ones or caregivers. By receiving adequate senior care, elderly ones with visual impairment not only keep their self-esteem but also learn to live to the fullest.