Coexistence and care of elderly people with visual difficulties I

• Visual impairment, very common in people 70 years of age or older, is vision loss that cannot be corrected.
• Symptoms: slowness to respond or move, fear of falling, difficulty locating objects, confusing faces ...
• Causes: age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma ...

Symptoms of visual impairment

Visual impairment is defined as loss of vision that cannot be corrected with glasses, drugs, or surgery. It becomes difficult to carry out daily tasks such as reading, shopping, recognizing faces and even crossing the streets. Some symptoms that may indicate visual impairment are:

• Slowness to respond or move.
• Confuse environments with low contrast or low lighting.
• Confuse with faces and to identify people.
• Difficulty locating objects that are small or that contrast little with the environment.
• Difficulty paying attention.
• Avoidance of activities that require good vision (for example, sewing or embroidery).
• Errors in tasks that have small details (for example taking the medicine that does not touch).
• Fear of falls.

Causes

The causes of decreased visual acuity in older people are mainly:

• Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): blurs central vision, making it difficult to see the details of objects, print and faces. Peripheral vision remains intact and can be used for orientation and movement.
• : it is part of the alterations in the microcirculation produced by a prolonged poor control of the (both type 1 and 2). Irregularly affects the entire retina, affecting both central and peripheral vision.
• It is the increase in pressure in the internal fluids of the eye; If this high pressure is maintained for a time, the fibers of the optic nerve are altered, causing the images of the retina to not carry well to the brain. The most frequent visual defect is the so-called "tunnel vision", that is to say, it is seen well in the center, and badly in the periphery.
• Stroke (cerebral thrombosis, embolism, stroke) can also alter vision, when the affected area of ​​the brain is responsible for vision, depending on the site and extent of the damage, the symptoms can be varied. It affects the visual messages entering from both eyes, generally eliminating the perception of either the right half or the left half of the visual field. Detailed vision may not be impaired, but reading can be very difficult.

In case of living with a person with visual problems it is important to take into account a series of.