About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffMacular degeneration doesn't affect your side (peripheral) vision and usually doesn't cause total blindness. But it can diminish or eliminate your central vision — which is important for driving, reading and recognizing people's faces. It may help to work with a low vision rehabilitation specialist or occupational therapist who can assist you in adapting to your changing vision.
Ways to cope with your changing vision might include:
- Ask your eye doctor to check your eyeglasses. Optimize the vision you have by getting the most appropriate prescription lenses for your glasses. Bifocal lenses may be helpful.
- Use magnifiers. A variety of magnifying devices can help you with reading and other close-up work, such as sewing. Traditional hand-held magnifying lenses are one option. Others, such as special magnifying lenses you wear just like glasses, may be available from your eye doctor, at specialty stores or from a vision rehabilitation specialist. Another option may be a closed-circuit television system that uses a video camera to magnify reading material and project it on a video screen.
- Change the display on your computer. Adjust the font size in your computer's settings. Adjust your monitor to show more contrast.
- Select special appliances made for low vision. Some clocks, radios, telephones and other appliances have extra-large numbers. Other gadgets can talk to tell you the time or other important information. You may find it easier to watch television on a TV with a larger screen.
- Use brighter lights in your home. This will help with reading and other activities.
- Use caution when driving. First, check with your doctor to see if driving is still safe, based on your current visual acuity. When you do drive, certain situations require extra caution, such as driving at night, in heavy traffic or in bad weather.
- Consider other travel options. Use public transportation or ask family members to help, especially with night driving. Make arrangements to use local van or shuttle services, volunteer driving networks or ride shares.
- Age-related macular degeneration. American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://one.aao.org/asset.axd?id=29a3f5f4-afa1-41ea-bbc5-0bb01ff1fc9c. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Rosenfeld PJ, et al. Age-related macular degeneration. In: Yanoff M, et al. Ophthalmology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/199400089-5/0/1869/0.html. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Facts about age-related macular degeneration. National Eye Institute. http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/maculardegen/armd_facts.asp. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Arroyo JG. Age-related macular degeneration: Treatment and prevention. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Making the most of low vision. EyeSmart. http://www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/diseases/amd-low-vision.cfm. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Schadlu AP, et al. Charles Bonnet syndrome: A review. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology. 2009;20:219.
- Devices to help with low vision. Macular Degeneration Partnership. http://www.amd.org/living-with-amd/low-vision/80-devices-to-help-low-vision.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on