Vision Loss and Senior Care by Peter Mangola Rn Bsn

Vision Loss and Senior Care by Peter Mangola Rn Bsn

Low vision and blindness are increasingly becoming major causes of anxiety among seniors, especially those who are over the age of 65. Many reports show that seniors dread vision loss more than they dread heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and other serious medical problems.

Why are seniors so dreadful of vision loss? In fact, it is not the disease that they fear but the consequences that it would have on the quality of their lives that they fear the most. One of their major concerns related to the loss of their vision is the loss of their independence resulting in the need to move to a nursing home or for an in home care. Other worries related to visual impairment include losing their ability to read, identify medications, and drive. A few seniors also express concern over losing the ability to watch television and go to the movies in case they loss their eyesight.

Because vision loss is such an alarming condition to many elderly ones senior care providers must know what exactly is vision loss and find ways to help seniors prevent, treat and cope with this condition. Medically speaking the term vision loss refers to a condition wherein a person’s vision problem cannot be remedied using ordinary glasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery. Signs of low vision include difficulty reading, distinguishing colors and objects, seeing object, recognizing faces, and seeing signs and posts.

Low vision, however, is not the same as blindness. Low vision often leads to a lesser reading or central vision. It could also lead to, reduced side or peripheral vision, or the lack of ability to adapt to light, glare, or contrast. People facing low vision issues can still improve their remaining useful vision by means of vision aids such as reading glasses, magnifiers, and closed-circuit TV devices.

Elderly people suffering from low vision often seek for an in home senior care because their very limited sight interferes with their daily activities. Most victims of visual impairment suffer from physical or mental health problems, which include falling injury and depression. All these can greatly affect their lives and so the need for senior care becomes inevitable.