Caring for low vision patients to improve the quality of their rehabilitation

Low vision means that the patient’s visual acuity in both eyes is still below 0.3 but not less than 0.05 after conventional refractive correction or medication or surgery. According to statistics, there are 161 million patients with low vision worldwide, and China’s statistics in 2006 concluded that there are more than 20 million patients with visual disability, including 6.61 million blind people and 13.42 million people with low vision. Currently, the low vision population in China is divided into two major groups: the elderly and children. There are three main causes of low vision in the elderly. One is diabetic complications: 50% of diabetic patients are accompanied by retinopathy, which can easily cause a rapid loss of vision if they are not examined and treated in time. Therefore, diabetic patients should come to the eye examination regularly, and it is best to ensure an annual review, and once retinopathy is found, laser fundus treatment can be performed. Second, vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration: some data show that 10% of 70-year-olds have this problem. Old age macular degeneration does not have any pain or other symptoms, just vision loss, which can be treated by drug intervention if detected early, and also photodynamic therapy has good effect on some patients. Third, low vision caused by glaucoma: early diagnosis of clear glaucoma patients can be cured by IOP control, attention to eye nutrition and surgery. A part of children with low vision can obtain effective vision if they can be detected early and treated reasonably, such as congenital cataract and congenital glaucoma should be operated early and prevented early. Regular post-operative reviews should be conducted to prevent complications and appropriate vision enhancement training should be given. Children with refractive errors and amblyopia should go to a regular hospital after the age of 3 for dilated eye examinations, appropriate glasses, and vision enhancement treatment under the guidance of a professional physician. For those children whose vision cannot be improved by surgery or medication and conventional refractive correction, their visual function can be improved with vision aids. Pay attention to low vision patients, improve the quality of their rehabilitation, and polish the windows of their hearts.