What magnifying glass should i use when visually impaired?

A person is visually impaired or handicapped when even with the best correction of glasses or contact lenses, the functions of the eye continue to be impaired. In this case, a magnifying glass or aid helps optimize the degree of vision available, therefore they become an essential aid instrument.

The World Health Organization classifies these disabilities in:

• Visual impairment in the good eye: Visual acuity <30%
  
• Severe visual impairment: Visual acuity <5%
  
• Blind eye: Visual acuity <2%
  

Visual disabilities, apart from congenital problems or accidents, usually affect elderly people, due to the degeneration of the optical system of the human eye.

Macular degeneration:

It is caused by damage or deterioration of the macula, with a higher incidence in person over 65 years. The macula is a portion or area of tissue residing in the back of the eye, specifically in the center of the retina. This area provides visual acuity, which allows the eye to perceive fine and small details. In malfunctioning or degeneration of the macula, the vision of the center of the visual field is degraded, sharpness is lost and the image becomes cloudy, blurred and even central vision is lost.

There are special magnifying glasses to improve vision in case of suffering from macular degeneration. These magnifiers are aplanatic reading, provide images with sharp edges and without distortion. These same macula magnifiers will also be helpful to people with glaucoma.

Glaucoma:

Ocular pathology caused by increased internal pressure of the eye. This increase in pressure eventually damages the optic nerve irreversibly. In the case of glaucoma, peripheral vision is lost or diminished, whereas central vision is preserved for a long period of time.

People who suffer from glaucoma are especially sensitive to light and its reflections, in these cases light loupes are not recommended, so the same loupes we recommended for macular degeneration can be used.

Waterfalls:

Cataract is ocular pathology related to partial or total opacity of the lens. Opacity causes light to scatter within the eye and cannot be focused or concentrated on the retina. People with cataracts have blurred or blurred vision.

For patients with cataracts, loupes with a greater visual field and an average magnification (between 2.5 and 4X) are recommended. A good example is the Mobilux from Eschenbach.

Retinopathies:

Among the pathologies properly associated with the retina, the most important are included in retinitis pigmentosa and diabetic retinopathy.

Retinitis pigmentosa is caused by the loss of retinal cells, rods, and cones. In the early stages, it affects night vision and the entire peripheral field of vision, a posteriori vision loss is more general and irreversible. It is of genetic origin and always degenerative.

Diabetic retinopathy is associated with diabetes and is characterized by a deterioration of the blood vessels that supply the retina. From this damage, the loss of blood from one band results, and the abnormal regeneration of more blood vessels on the other, causing deterioration of vision due to the proliferation of fibrous tissue in the retina. Vision becomes blurred.