Low Vision Info

There are several vision changes that affect those with macular degeneration besides the loss of central vision.  Cone cells are concentrated in the fovea – which is the center of the macula located in the back of the eye.  These photoreceptor cells are responsible for detailed, sharp vision but also provide us with the ability […]

A central scotoma is a blind spot that occurs in the center of one’s vision.  It can appear in several different ways.  It may look like a black or gray spot for some and for others it may be a blurred smudge or a distorted view in one’s straight ahead vision.  Scotomas may start out […]

While there are some risk factors for age related macular degeneration (AMD) that you can’t control, there are also some that you can.  The ones that are handed to you at birth include blue or light colored eyes, female, and family history.   When asked, “ Are more people getting AMD today than ever before?”  Lylas […]

There are vastly differing opinions in the world, some opinions are better than bubblegum toothpaste while others are so bad they should be arrested. Just as there are differing impairments in the blind and low vision world, there rest these differing opinions. Some, of which, attempt to speak for all other visually impaired people. They write with […]

During a recent dinner outing to a favorite restaurant with my father-in-law who has wet macular degeneration, he sheepishly told us he couldn’t see well enough to figure out how to lock the bathroom door.   Just hours before the outing we gave him a flashlight that one wears on the wrist – just like a […]

While AMD robs patients of their vision, it doesn’t need to rob patients of their independence or their joy in participating in their favorite hobbies.   How one lives successfully with AMD or any other low vision condition depends on how willing one is to try to do the things they enjoy, but to do them […]

For years, blind and visually impaired people who wanted to use a kindle were left with a lot of frustration and even hassle. Amazon released their kindle readers with only the barest of text to speech. Amazon did make their apps on IOS and Android accessible but only after significant push back from the visually […]

The Macular Degeneration Association (MDA) issued an urgent warning in March of 2016 to those who have been diagnosed with intermediate dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The warning advised patients to talk with their eye doctor about commonly prescribed eye vitamins using the Age Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) formula containing zinc, which upon further […]

Some of the most commonly prescribed eye vitamins for macular degeneration are ones that follow the recommendation from the Age Related Eye Disease study (AREDS).  A ten year study conducted by the National Eye Institute which began in September 1990 with the first published results in 2001 concluded that “taking high levels of antioxidants and […]

My son is on the border of turning thirty one. If I do the math it means that I have not seen his face for over fifteen years. That is almost half of how old he is. I never really put my vision loss in those terms before but it was stunning to consider. People […]