How to Cope with Low Vision By Liz Segre Low vision can make even simple activities seem difficult. Fortunately, many magnifiers, telescopes, and other low vision aids are available, like this magnifying system from Telesensory that offers several color and contrast settings for various types of photographs and reading material. Low vision is a term commonly used among eyecare professionals to mean partial sight, or sight that isn't fully correctable with surgery, pharmaceuticals, contact lenses, or glasses.
Low vision has a variety of causes, including eye injury, diseases, and heredity.
Sometimes low vision involves a lack of acuity, meaning that objects do not come into focus. Other times, it involves the ability to distinguish colors, see contrasts, or determine spatial relationships among objects. People with glaucoma or retinitis pigmentosa can lose peripheral vision and have difficulty seeing at night. Children as well as adults can be visually impaired, but it is mostly a problem that afflicts seniors. Vision loss can be very traumatic, leading to frustration and depression.