6 low-vision tips that can make your life easier
This advice can help you be safer and more organized while improving your day-to-day functioning at home.
Vision loss from age-related eye diseases can make performing day-to-day tasks difficult. Getting dressed, managing your medicines, doing laundry and preparing meals can all feel like a challenge.
Working with your doctor to manage your vision condition is key. It’s also important to make sure that you can do all the activities that you have (and want!) to do. That’s where an eye care provider, such as an optometrist or ophthalmologist who specializes in low vision, can be valuable.
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Improve lighting
Balancing lighting indoors and outdoors is a key starting point for individuals with vision loss. That includes lighting for up-close tasks, such as reading, food preparation, managing medicines and paying bills, as well as for safe movement.
Use an adjustable table lamp or floor lamp for those up-close tasks instead of relying on overhead lamps or ceiling lights. Light should be below eye level and close to any reading material.
For safe movement outdoors, you need good lighting on walkways and front-door steps. Indoors, you may want to use night-lights along your pathway to the bathroom and keep lamps within easy reach of the bed.
Keep indoor stairs safe
Add contrast or reflective tape to the edge of steps to increase their visibility. If you have carpeted steps, make sure the tape is tacked down securely so it doesn’t become a tripping danger. Place a nonskid contrasting mat at the bottom of the stairs. too. Walking strategies can also help. Pause before going up and down each stair and think about taking one stair at a time.1
Clear the way
Make sure furniture is arranged in a traffic pattern that feels comfortable and safe for you. In some cases, you may need to make only small adjustments. Remove throw rugs, for example. Push in the kitchen table chairs when you’re done with breakfast and keep clutter off the stairs. And if there are cords that cross over walkways in your home, reroute them.
Organize storage spaces
Being able to find what you need when you need it saves time and reduces frustration. For example, store baking supplies in one bin, so you can quickly pull it out when making muffins or cupcakes. Think about throwing away old or never-used spices and moving your go-to favorites up front. Mark the top or front label of jars with a big letter to identify the spice (“O” for oregano, for instance).
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Mark the controls you need
If you have trouble distinguishing “delicates” from “regular wash” on your washing machine, mark your controls with white electrician’s tape and permanent marker or bump dots. You can do the same with the microwave, toaster oven, TV remote, and more.
Tap into audio capabilities
Alexa, set a timer for 20 minutes. There’s so much mainstream technology available today that helps people with vision loss. For example:
- Set alarms and reminders and use voice activation to call loved ones
- Ask Siri to send texts for you (enunciate well so you won’t have to edit or rewrite texts)
- Listen to audiobooks. You can rent them from your local library to read on your device. Or use the Talking Book and Braille Service, a free service offered through the National Library Service in each state.2
The changes above are a great way to start making daily tasks easier and safer. Don’t hesitate to seek out an eye care provider that specializes in low-vision — you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much they can help.
Providers in the UnitedHealthcare Vision Network are here to help keep your vision healthy. Search for a provider now.
Sources:
- “Analysis of lower limb movement to determine the effect of manipulating the appearance of stairs to improve safety: a linked series of laboratory-based, repeated measures studies” Public Health Research, July 2015.
- Find your library National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled
