Bright and beautiful
October 23, 2010 7:01 PM Subscribe
Lighted magnifier/reading aid help, please.
My mom's vision is degenerating pretty aggressively; she's at the point now where she can't comfortably read books, magazines, or bills even with corrective lenses. Her main complaint is that things are too dim/dark.
I am thinking that if she had the following three aids, life would get a lot easier for her:
- a bright desk lamp with a generously sized magnifier;
- a lighted page magnifier;
- and a small handheld LED magnifier.
I think those would probably cover most situations - reading a book, looking through letters or photos, crafting, random reading out-and-about. But the huge array of options out there is overwhelming to me.
Do you have any experience with items like this, either for yourself or someone else? For example, I'm looking at this for the desk lamp, and this for the handheld...but I have no idea about quality or if there are better options out there. And the lighted page magnifier thing is awful - I thought there would be something like the light wedge that magnified as well, but everything I'm seeing is pretty useless-looking (super thin plastic).
Any ideas, or even particularly good sources to look around in? Please help me help my mom!
My mom's vision is degenerating pretty aggressively; she's at the point now where she can't comfortably read books, magazines, or bills even with corrective lenses. Her main complaint is that things are too dim/dark.
I am thinking that if she had the following three aids, life would get a lot easier for her:
- a bright desk lamp with a generously sized magnifier;
- a lighted page magnifier;
- and a small handheld LED magnifier.
I think those would probably cover most situations - reading a book, looking through letters or photos, crafting, random reading out-and-about. But the huge array of options out there is overwhelming to me.
Do you have any experience with items like this, either for yourself or someone else? For example, I'm looking at this for the desk lamp, and this for the handheld...but I have no idea about quality or if there are better options out there. And the lighted page magnifier thing is awful - I thought there would be something like the light wedge that magnified as well, but everything I'm seeing is pretty useless-looking (super thin plastic).
Any ideas, or even particularly good sources to look around in? Please help me help my mom!
I cannot vouch for either of these, but I figured I'd include them in case you'd not seen them in your search thus far: lighted magnifying glass and lighted page magnifier.
Best of luck to you.
posted by alexandermatheson at 7:12 PM on October 23, 2010
Best of luck to you.
posted by alexandermatheson at 7:12 PM on October 23, 2010
This may be much more than you're looking to spend or consider, but -- have you thought about an e-reader? My mom's vision has been worsening for a long time as well; we've tried *several* magnifier devices (lighted, magnifying, etc) on her over the years, and she didn't like them at all; the cheap plastic ones actually made her eyes feel much worse. But ever since I gave her my Kindle, she's loved it -- she can make the text large enough to read by lamplight even without her glasses, and it's so comfortable an experience for her now that she spends most of her waking day reading on it. (I'm hoping to get her an iPad for christmas so she can have that with photos, websurfing, recipes, etc.)
Best wishes to you both.
posted by Noah at 10:15 PM on October 23, 2010
Best wishes to you both.
posted by Noah at 10:15 PM on October 23, 2010
I work with visually impaired people for a living. The choices may be overwhelming, but there are organizations and companies that can help you find the right equipment. Different visual impairments cause different kinds of vision loss. Some eye disease cause the loss of central vision, others cause loss of peripheral vision. Your mom is losing sensitivity to light and needs a bright image to read. Some devices magnify or change the colors to make it easier to read. Someone familiar with the products and the type of eye disease your mom has can help her figure out what she needs.
Even though your mom is not blind, try finding blindness service organizations in your area; they deal with people who have all sorts of visual impairments. The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind have chapters in most states and are a great place to start looking for resources. If you want to MeMail me with where your mom lives, I might be able to refer you to some resources for her to find the proper equipment.
posted by rsclark at 11:58 PM on October 23, 2010
Even though your mom is not blind, try finding blindness service organizations in your area; they deal with people who have all sorts of visual impairments. The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind have chapters in most states and are a great place to start looking for resources. If you want to MeMail me with where your mom lives, I might be able to refer you to some resources for her to find the proper equipment.
posted by rsclark at 11:58 PM on October 23, 2010
My mom went through something similar, and cannot read anymore. Her complaint wasn't darkness; it was pain - it hurts her eyes to read. Along the way, I got her various magnifying devices, including a full-page Fresnel lens. The thing that seemed most helpful was this. It also has legs that fold out.
My mom now relies on audio books from the Association for the Blind.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:20 AM on October 24, 2010
My mom now relies on audio books from the Association for the Blind.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:20 AM on October 24, 2010
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posted by zachlipton at 7:08 PM on October 23, 2010