Every day 250 people start to lose their sight in the UK, and around 2 million people are currently living with sight loss. It can be incredibly disheartening, but as an optician you are in a great position to restore patients’ confidence and give them access to the necessary tools for making the most of their visual abilities.
Low vision can make it difficult to do everyday activities and it usually cannot be treated with standard lenses or surgery. As February is Low Vision Month, it’s important to remember that every patient is different and some may have unique needs. By becoming an Essilor partner optician, you can access low vision aids to help every patient no matter how severe their vision problems may be.
How low vision can affect your patients
Patients who suffer from low vision will likely struggle to see well enough to read, drive, recognise people’s faces or even tell colours apart. Low vision can affect the central or peripheral vision, as well as night blindness. In some cases, having low vision can impact depth perception and contrast sensitivity.
In these cases, it’s so important that patients feel they have access to the tools they need to help reduce the effects of low vision on their everyday lives. Unfortunately low vision is permanent, but there are ways to make the most of the remaining vision.
Low vision aids can give you the chance to give your patients their visual independence back. Through specialised lenses and other devices, you can help to restore confidence and ensure each patient can adjust to having low vision.
Low vision lenses
Whilst typically low vision cannot be corrected with lenses, at Essilor we have developed specialised lenses for low vision that can make a difference. For those who have challenging visual requirements or a unique prescription,
low vision lenses can provide vision correction for a range from -40.00 D up to +32.00 D.
These lenses are available in different designs including varifocals and single vision lenses, and can be particularly helpful in instances such as a high sphere power or out of range cylinder.
Low vision devices
For circumstances where lenses won’t offer so much help, we have access to a number of devices that may help your patients achieve clearer vision. These
low vision aids can be helpful for seeing fine print on documents, reading text messages or even seeing street signs from further away.
There are a number of digital magnifiers to choose from, that are easy to use and portable. Combining intelligence and convenience, low vision aids are perfect for using at home, work or on the go.
We have 3 devices to choose from, helping you to deliver the right solution for each patient.
During Low Vision Month and beyond, make sure your patients with low vision understand the solutions available to them and help them regain their visual confidence. Find out more about
becoming an Essilor partner optician today.