Magnifying Reading Glasses
Macular Degeneration GlassesIt is possible to continue reading with macular degeneration - however, along with reading glasses, you will need good lighting, and large print books.
Let your low vision specialist determine the magnifying power that you need. They can accurately determine which lenses will help you with your distance and near vision. Sometimes you can start with just stronger bifocals.As your macular degeneration progresses you will need more magnification. Often it is easier to use high-powered reading glasses rather than a hand held magnifier. Reading glasses come in different powers or strengths. Keep this in mind - the higher the power of the lens, the closer you must hold the reading material. That's why your low vision specialist will normally recommend the lowest magnification that you need to see clearly. Typically, the average person holds their reading material at a distance of about 18 inches. As the magnification increases, the closer you must be to your book or magazine. A person with say 8x reading glasses must hold the material at a distance of 5 inches. Reading MagnifierUsing higher powered reading magnifiers is an adjustment and it takes time to get used to this new way of reading.To try to minimize the magnifying power of your reading glasses, purchase large print books or magazines, or try an electronic reading device where you can adjust the font size. Often with better lighting, less magnification is needed. To learn more about lighting click here: Low Vision Lighting New Glasses for Macular DegenerationNew glasses for macular degeneration called,Low Vision Readers, have been developed by Dr. Jeffrey Sonsino, founder of the Center for Sight Enhancement at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute.He has worked with hundreds of patients with low vision. Low vision is defined as those with 20/60 vision that cannot be corrected with prescription glasses or surgery. Not only will people with macular degeneration benefit from these glasses, so will those with other low vision conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, or cataracts. 
What will make these magnifying reading glasses so unique is that they will be available without a prescription or seeing a low vision specialist. Low Vision Readers will be much easier to use than other reading aids and relatively inexpensive. According to their website, "Low Vision Readers use high powered LED lighting built into the spectacle frame, magnifying high powered lenses, and prism correction to fix the reading distance." Low Vision Readers will have a rechargeable battery which will last around 7 hours between charges. The light used in the first prototype was not as strong as they wanted, so a second prototype was developed with a brighter light. This newer version will be used in a clinical trial,(pending approval by the Vanderbilt University Institutional Review Board). The study will "compare reading speed and a reading activity index (standardized way of determining if the glasses benefit people). This study will use the updated prototype with 1,000lux lighting."
The cost of these reading glasses has not yet been determined but according to their website, "they will be more affordable than a standard set of bifocals."
The estimated availablity of the glasses is summer of 2010.
For Additional Information:
Large Print Books
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