Low vision is much more common than you might think, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Some one in six people over the age of 45 have a condition called low vision, where they have trouble reading, driving, or telling colors apart. And that number rises to one in four in those over the age of 75. Judith Goldstein, a low vision expert at Johns Hopkins, says fear often accompanies the vision loss.

Goldstein: People who are losing vision are quite scared. They don’t know who to turn to and they feel very alone. People are worried about am I going to go blind? They want to know why their vision is fluctuating, why are they having good days and bad days with their vision. They feel like their vision continues to decline even though their eye doctor tells them everything is stable. As part of this examination we develop a rehab plan. We might have people come back for additional visits to kind of try on the adaptations. What works in the clinic doesn’t always work in the real world. And so it’s very important that we make sure that it works for the patient.  :32

Goldstein says a patient, systematic approach to managing low vision is best. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.