Lighting Tips for Low Vision

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Eyesight can fade over time because of aging or an eye disease. The December issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers tips to help compensate for low vision:

Around the house:

• Reduce differences in brightness — Equalize indoor and outdoor light sources by leaving some house lights on during bright sunny days.
• Reduce glare — Cover shiny surfaces, such as a polished table, with a cloth. Dark-colored place mats can help at mealtime. Opt for furnishings with a flat or matte finish.
• Light up dark spots — Install lighting in dark areas, such as inside closets. Keep a pocket flashlight handy for dark areas.

For better close-up vision:

• Use bright, direct lighting — Position an adjustable lamp about four to eight inches from reading material or a close-up task. Keep the lamp slightly to one side to reduce glare. If possible, position the light over the shoulder on the side of the better-seeing eye.
• Use daylight — To take advantage of natural light, position yourself so that windows are to the side or behind you.
• Use a dark background — When reading, reduce glare by using a piece of dark construction paper to cover areas of text you're not reading at that moment.

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Mayo Clinic Health Letter is an eight-page monthly newsletter of reliable, accurate and practical information on today's health and medical news. To subscribe, please call 800-333-9037 (toll-free), extension 9771, or visit the Mayo Clinic Health Letter Web site.

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Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,700 physicians, scientists and researchers, and 50,100 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has campuses in Rochester, Minn; Jacksonville, Fla; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.; and community-based providers in more than 70 locations in southern Minnesota., western Wisconsin and northeast Iowa. These locations treat more than half a million people each year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education, visit www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource for your health stories.