A Miracle.

This recent story caught my eye and is worth sharing. New Zealand author Lynley Hood has been a strong advocate for the visually impaired community since she lost her own vision in 2009.

Visual Impairment Charitable Trust Aotearoa (VICTA) started as a result of her lonely and frustrating search for help. VICTA provides an independent consumer voice for New Zealanders with irreversible vision loss who are not blind enough to qualify for membership of Blind Low Vision New Zealand (BLVNZ).

She has also written eloquently about ‘Becoming Illietrate’ where she describes her frustartion with listening to audio books, and her grief at the loss of being able to read text. This is an evocative piece for anyone who loves reading, describing all the pleasure we derive from text and the written word.

Author Dr Lynley Hood

Now, so far unexplained, she has recently regained her vision. This has baffled medical specialists. I suspect she won’t be stopping to consider the why and how, instead I imagine her immersed again in her joy of reading. Read more in this article.

Progressive Lenses: FAQ

Progressives lenses give you freedom from always looking for your glasses! We often hear these lenses are hard to adapt to, but we find most people can wear progressives happily. And often would not be without them. Here are some of the common questions people have about these lenses.

If I get progressives does that mean I need to wear my glasses full time? No. Many people wear progressive glasses at work, or indoors for convenience, but not outdoors for sports and recreation. However, often the best way to get used to these new lenses is to wear them all the time - for a while at least.

What will I experience when getting used to wearing progressive lenses? Sometimes the reading area can seem very restrictive, and there is a feeling that your position has to very precise to see through the clear zone. In most cases this recedes as a result of habitually looking through the correct position unconsciously.

On the whole you have to get used to the individual areas of vision and their position in the spectacles: in the lower area you will see close viewing distances clearly. If you look in the distance, you will do this using the upper portion of the lens to get clear vision. 

Progressive lens areas of vision

All of this is normal and will improve as you adapt to your lenses. Here are our recommendations.

Keep them on. 

You may be tempted to switch back and forth between your progressive lenses and your old glasses, but don’t. The more you wear your progressive lenses, the quicker you’ll get used to them. Even if you don’t ‘need’ any vision correction to look across the room, or your intention was not to wear these glasses full time, it will help to wear them as much as possible at the beginning.

Don’t just move your eyes.
Moving your eyes around the lens can cause eye strain, headaches and discomfort. Get in the habit of moving your whole head, especially when looking through your far and mid-range prescriptions. You will naturally look down when you are reading.

Position your glasses correctly.
Proper alignment will make a difference. Keep your glasses positioned high up on your nose and fitting well behind your ears. This improves your field of clear vision and reduces distortion. 

Be patient.
Stick with your new glasses, and you will train your brain to see properly through the lenses, and looking through the different areas of the lens will become a habit. It may take a few weeks, but you will get there! 

How Progressives Work:
Instead of having just two or three lens powers like bifocals or trifocals, progressive lenses are true multifocal lenses that provide a seamless progression of many lens powers for all viewing distances.
A “corridor" of optimum lens power runs vertically down each progressive lens. We have taken careful measurements of your eyes and glasses frame to ensure this corridor is in just the right location so that your eyes can naturally access the various powers within the lens. This design allows you to look up to see clearly across the room and in the distance. You also can look ahead to view your computer in the intermediate zone and drop your gaze downward to read and do fine work through the near zone of the lenses.
If you glance to the very far right or left, you may notice your vision is slightly wavy. You may also notice this wavy vision in your periphery at first when you move your head side to side, but after a very short time you will become unaware of this.
These are completely natural, and will diminish within a short period of time as you adapt to your new progressives.

Driving Take care when driving - do not use new progressives if you are not confident in the early days.

Enjoy your new glasses!

So, you have 'early' macular degeneration, what now?

Awareness of macular degeneration is growing. Often people are coming for an eye examination because of public education campaigns about the importance of regular eyecare. This is a very good thing and a message we thoroughly support.

From an optometrist’s viewpoint it is always a heartsink moment when, as part of a routine appointment, I see early signs of macular degeneration. Depending on what people know about this condition, hearing this information can be very distressing. This can be a shock which can impact on understanding or even hearing the rest of the consultation and the implications of the diagnosis.

But let’s give it some context.

Nine out of ten cases of macular degeneration are described as ‘dry’. While vision does deteriorate, progression can be very slow.

What about the 10th case? These are commonly referred to as ‘wet’ macular degeneration. The change in vision is usually much more noticeable, including distortion. But there is treatment. This is delivered by injection. Many people have macular degeneration treated this way, and sometimes the outcomes can be quite good.

If you are told you have early signs of macular degeneration my recommendations are:

A healthy diet can help your eye health

  • Read the material from Macular Degeneration NZ - their handouts and website are excellent.

  • Put the Amsler Grid somewhere handy and check it regularly.

  • Do an audit of your diet to make sure you are covering all the recommendations. If not, consider supplements.

  • Take a careful look at home lighting and make any improvement possible. Particularly useful is to increase light levels in places you like to read. This can make an appreciable impact on your reading. Daylight lamps are excellent.

  • Same goes for magnifying glasses. Often these can be buried in a drawer somewhere. Clean them and leave them in the kitchen and bathroom where they are easily accessible for reading small print on labels.

  • Prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but start small. Don’t leap straight to thinking about not driving and having to move house. Instead channel that energy into trying new technology. Have you listened to an audio book from the library? Can you take a photo of a label with your phone and magnify it? Have you ordered groceries online?

  • Talk to your friends and peers. There may be people you know in the same situation, and hearing their stories can be very helpful.

The Amsler grid can help detect early sign of retinal disease and monitor changes in vision after diagnosis.

Remember to talk to your optometrist. When you have had time to process the information if you have questions come back to us, we are here to help.

Warkworth Low Vision Support Group Monday 19 September 1.30pm

For the past three years the Low Vision Support group has met each month at Summerset Retirement Village.

This is a support group for people with low vision, and people who have eye conditions, such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, who may in the future be living with reduced sight. Although this community has come together through shared challenges and losses, there have been many highlights. Some of the group has mastered new technology and found solutions which are very helpful.

Blind Low Vision New Zealand are moving away from their physical audio players to Alexa Smart Speakers, and several people now find these devices very useful on a daily basis.

One of our group, Brian Holmes, has had great success with a Reveal 16 electronic magnifier. This is similar to one now set up in the Warkworth Library. It has a moveable table making it very user friendly for reading books, or magazines.

Brian Holmes and Pam Poole

Brian’s main joy with the Magnifier has been his stamp collecting passion. The magnification goes up to 45X and the unit helps him see coloured detail on his stamps.

We meet the 3rd Monday of each month, 1.30pm. Please join us if you or someone in your family is struggling with low vision.

At our next meeting, Monday 19 September, we are visiting the Warkworth Library and will be joined by Sarah Parsons from Bolinda Borrow Box - suppliers of much of the library’s collection of digital audio. Please join us and learn more about how to access the library collection of audiobooks. You are welcome even if you can see well. Bring your smart phone and library card, and Sarah will show us tips to make enjoying audio books easier.

Read more about using Alexa - here is a review from a 97 year old crime fiction fan.