Reading Aids for People With Wet AMD
When you have wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), blood vessels grow under your macula, the area of your eye that supports central vision. The blood vessels leak fluid that scars the macula, which can make it hard to read. You may see dark spots (gaps in your vision), see straight lines as wavy, see bright or intense colors as dull, or have a generally hazy or blurry view with less detail.
Wet AMD can come on quickly, and if you have it in one eye, you’re more likely to get it in the other. Talk with your doctor as soon as you notice changes in your vision, and know that if you do have wet AMD, a wide range of vision assistive technology is available. Reading the newspaper or getting lost in a book doesn’t have to be a thing of your past.
There are several ways you can change the lighting in your home to make it easier to read with wet AMD:
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Use brighter, higher-wattage light bulbs throughout your home—it doesn’t matter if the light is yellow or white.
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Add lamps to darker areas.
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Focus light in your reading areas.
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Adjust lighting to minimize glare (reflection off shiny surfaces).
Magnifying lenses make words on a page larger and easier to see, and these lenses come in different forms:
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Magnifying eyeglasses (spectacles) close to your eyes
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Magnifying lenses on a stand close to your reading material
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Hand-held magnifiers you can hold over what you’re reading and adjust as needed
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Telescopic devices such as small binoculars that can either be attached to eyeglasses or hand-held
Explore your options with your doctor and experiment to find what works best for you.
