February is Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month as decreed by Prevent Blindness, the nation’s leading eye health and safety nonprofit organization. AMD is one of the common causes of low vision, alongside diabetes and glaucoma. Increasing recognition of AMD recognizes the condition as an eye disease that impairs central vision and may appear in two forms, wet AMD and dry AMD.
Releasing accurate information about AMD and low vision is important to promote early detection and eliminate whatever false beliefs may circulate about both illnesses. AMD alone affects approximately 15 million people in the United States.
Visual impairment can make it difficult to engage in everyday activities like simply moving around, reading, or cooking. The condition cannot be fixed with glasses, contact lenses, or other standard treatments such as medicine or surgery. Currently, 4.2 million Americans ages 40 and older are visually impaired. Of these, 3 million have low vision.
By 2030, when the last baby boomers turn 65, the number of Americans who have visual impairments is projected to reach 7.2 million, with 5 million of those classified as low vision.
The good news is that vision rehabilitation services can help people with visual impairment make the most of the vision they have and continue doing the things they love. BVA members and their families are encouraged to carve out a few minutes during this AMD and Low Vision Awareness Month to learn more about vision rehabilitation, particularly the VA programs for which BVA has been a catalyst. Then spread the word to veterans who may still be unfamiliar with them!
The National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers some of the best resources on low vision, including an opportunity to see what it’s like to live with vision loss from common eye diseases. The resources also include a meeting of a panel of experts and stories of those who have experienced vision loss and benefitted from several types of vision rehabilitation services.
