What is the Best Macular Degeneration Magnifier?

As your macular degeneration progresses, magnifiers will become your most important visual aid. They come in a wide variety of styles, power and prices.

Before you start purchasing magnifiers there are a couple of important things to know.

1. Identify what activity or task the magnifier will be used for.

You will need different magnifiers for different tasks - such as a reading magnifier to read, a hands free magnifier for sewing, a small hand held magnifier for shopping, or a computer magnifier for using the computer.

The lens size needs to be large enough to see as much as possible and/or small enough to carry in your pocket or purse.

3. The Magnification Power

Magnification is the ratio between the apparent size and the true size of the viewed object behind the lens. If an object behind the lens appears ten times larger than its true size, and the object is in focus, the magnification is 10X.

It is best to find out what power magnification is good for you from your low vision specialist.

4. The Focal Length

Focal Length has do to with how far the magnifier needs to be from your eyes and from the object.

The stronger the magnification, the shorter the distance between the magnifier and the object.

However, if you are able to read a book with a 2x hand-held magnifier, the magnifier can be several inches away from the book and your eyes can be several inches away from the 2x hand-held magnifier.

Lighting also plays a factor in your magnification needs. Often, a person can reduce the power of magnification with better lighting. The benefit of a reduced power magnifier is a larger field of vision.

To learn more about magnifiers for macular degeneration and to see what types are available such as TV magnifiers, computer screen magnifiers, hands free magnifiers, etc. click here:

Macular Degeneration Magnifiers

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Leslie Degner, RN, BSN

Better Health for Better Vision