Low vision shouldn’t hamper your professional life. There are tools available to help adjust workspaces to allow people with low vision maximum use of their eyesight.

Because low vision can range from moderate to severe among individuals and the different conditions can vary in how they impact vision—whether through a small central field or peripherally–each workspace should be tailored to the individual.

Below are a few resources and tips which can help people with low vision succeed in the workplace:

• Computer technology: There are many technologies available to assist individuals with low vision on the job, including software, special keyboards, voice recognition programs, glare guards, and other technologies that can make for a more effective work environment.
• Magnifiers: Electronic and traditional magnifiers are easily transportable from work to home. For reading assignments, these devices can come in handy when small text may be illegible without assistance.
• Office layout: It’s important for coworkers to update individuals with low vision when there may be a change in the office layout or walkways, like when the location of furniture or offices has been shifted. Additionally, small adjustments can be made to make for a better working environment, including different lighting to help reduce glare.

Many of these tips and resources can enhance quality of life in and out of the office. To find out more about the tips, technology and tools for living with low vision, visit a local low vision specialist.

Below is a compilation of news you can use relating to low vision and eye health in the month of June.

Do Carrots Really Improve Your Vision?
Salon
The question remains: Are carrots truly able to improve eyesight or is that the stuff of fiction? The answer is yes, under certain conditions, eating carrots will help improve eyesight. When it comes to eating nutrient-rich foods to improve eyesight, more generally, it is suggested stocking up on green, leafy vegetables. Spinach, kale or collard greens—all chock-full of lutein and zeaxanthin (which are other food-derived nutrients)—could help protect your eyes by filtering high-energy wavelengths of visible light that can damage the retina. Such foods may also help to protect against age-related macular degeneration, the major cause of blindness in the elderly.

Giving Alexis Sight: Low Vision Readers
KSAT-TV
More than 13 million Americans over the age of 45 suffer with a low vision condition, including those who’ve lost vision due to diabetes, age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma. However, new technology is providing hope to the many who suffer from low vision. Illuminated low vision readers use LED lights and prism correction to help people with these low vision conditions to read small print.

Strong Bonds Forged at West Haven VA’s Eastern Blind Rehab Center
New Haven Register
At a VA clinic in Connecticut,  individuals are seek out treatment come from all walks of life: they may be retired attorneys and some may be dockworkers but share two important things in common, regardless of social, economic or racial background. They share blindness and a military career – two strong bonds that create a brotherhood among the men.

Glaucoma Can Affect Babies, Too
WebMD
Although rare, one in 10,000 infants is born with the vision-robbing disease glaucoma, a condition which is largely diagnosed in people older than 60. The bottom line for parents is that, if they think something is wrong with their baby’s eyes, and their pediatrician has any doubt about the cause, see a pediatric ophthalmologist.

By Dora Adamopoulos, OD

After such a brutal winter, people are anxious to spend the summer months outdoors, whether it is a relaxing day at the pool or beach, grilling with friends, or exercising outside. While the sun’s damaging effect on skin is generally understood, many people don’t realize the same radiation also can affect eyes. Without UV protection, our eyes absorb powerful UVA and UVB rays which can burn and damage the retina.

National Sunglasses Day on June 27 is a chance to commit to wearing sunglasses every day to protect your vision and help you enjoy the beautiful summer weather.

Without protection a full day outside can cause immediate issues such as swollen or red eyes and temporary hypersensitivity to light, telltale signs of sunburn of the eyes. And years of cumulative exposure can cause cancer of the eye or eyelid and accelerate low vision conditions like age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.

Wearing sunglasses regularly can protect your eyes and prevent serious damage to your vision. However, many still don’t make it a habit to put on shades regularly.  A recent report by The Vision Council highlights how many Americans underestimate eye damage caused by the sun’s UV rays.

What’s shocking is nearly 30 percent of respondent of the 2014 Sun Protection Survey never wear shades. And 46 percent of individuals only wear sunglasses when it’s sunny out, which exposes their eyes to strong UV rays on cloudy or partially cloudy days.

For those who wear sunglasses, UV protection isn’t a given. Of those respondents wearing sunglasses when interviewed, 35 percent did not know if their eyewear provided UV protection and one in 10 people said their shades did not have such protection.

On National Sunglasses Day, start a new habit of protecting your vision and wearing sunglasses every time you’re outside. Preparation today can help sustain healthy vision for the future.