Our eyes, just like the rest of our bodies, can develop issues as we age. When adults reach the age of 60, they’re most likely going to experience age-related changes in their vision—these could be caused by diseases or just natural aging. Issues such as an increase in the thickness and loss of elasticity of the eyes’ lenses or the corneas losing their transparency can cause the elderly to have reduced color perception, slower dark adaptation, and the inability to observe finer details of objects. These problems can affect a senior’s quality of life and how they maneuver through their daily agenda.
What are Common Vision Problems that Seniors Experience?
Reduced Visual Field
Seniors can experience a decrease in their peripheral and upper visual fields. This can cause a lot of problems when driving and because of their reduced upper visual field, it can be difficult for them to see streetlights and high street signs.
Macular Degeneration
Age-related Macular Degeneration is an eye disease that can blur the center of your vision but doesn’t cause complete blindness. This can make it harder for seniors to see faces, drive, read, or do work such as fixing things around the house and cooking.
Cataracts
Cataracts cause a person’s vision to be hazy, blurry, or less colorful. It is, in most cases, a normal part of aging as one gets older. The protein in a person’s eyes starts breaking down and clumping together. This makes a cloudy area on your lens called cataracts. Cataracts get severe over time when not treated.
Glaucoma
It is a group of diseases that cause vision loss or blindness by damaging a nerve behind your eyes (optic nerve). Glaucoma starts slowly and isn’t usually unnoticeable. The only way to find out if a person has glaucoma is to get a comprehensive dilated eye exam.
Dry Eye
This is caused by a condition in which a person produces inadequate or poor-quality tears. Tears are essential in maintaining eye health, they keep the eyes moist and provide clear vision. Dry eye is common and often a chronic problem among aging adults.
Tips for Helping Seniors with Low-Vision and Eye Problems
The more you know about the challenges your loved ones or clients face, the better you can assist them. Here are some tips to assist them without sacrificing their independence.
Provide Good Lighting
Because seniors with low vision or eye problems find it hard to walk around in dark or dim places, providing good lighting by placing extra or brighter lights around the house or their workplace can lessen the risk of bumping into objects or tripping.
Safety-Proof the Home
Because of their declining vision. Seniors will find it hard to see small objects on the floor, edges of tables, and wet surfaces. Provide nightlights in places such as bedrooms, dim hallways, and bathrooms. Remove or relocate hazardous furniture such as coffee tables and throw rugs that can cause trips and falls. Make the home easy to navigate.
Create a Clear and Visible Organizing System
Add clear, color-coded labels around the house. Don’t be afraid to make use of contrasting colors to make things easier to see for seniors. Making use of tactile label systems such as rubber bands, felt, or sandpaper on items can aid them in differentiating items from each other.
Bigger Letters and Audiobooks
Low vision and eye problems can make it difficult to read books, magazines, or labels. Provide labels with bigger letters, and when reading books becomes too difficult due to the small letters, seniors can benefit from audiobooks.
Low Vision Specialist Checkups
Low-vision specialists are professionals who are knowledgeable in dealing with and assisting visually impaired people. Working with these professionals can provide you with the right approach to vision rehabilitation and methods of organizing such as labeling and marking household items.
Making sure that all of these tips are done is often time-consuming with everyone getting caught up in their personal lives. Caregivers from Unified Pledge can provide the best and most consistent assistance for your senior loved one. They not only provide caregiving services, but companionship as well, giving their clients independence without loneliness and low quality of life.
Unified Pledge Home Health provides a FREE consultation. Talk to them about your situation and explore your options.
Hiring professionals from Unified Pledge comes with the following advantages:
Level II FBI background checks of all staff
Driving history checks
Constant communication to patients, family, and care team
Registered Nurse supervision is ongoing with every care plan
Contact us today for a FREE consultation by a Supervisory Nurse at 561-800-4581.