Vision Rehabilitation

Vision rehabilitation (often called vision rehab) is a term for a medical rehabilitation to improve vision or low vision. In other words, it is the process of restoring functional ability and improving quality of life and independence in an individual who has lost visual function through illness or injury. Most visual rehabilitation services are focused on low vision, which is a visual impairment that cannot be corrected by regular eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery. Low vision interferes with the ability to perform everyday activities. Visual impairment is caused by factors including brain damage, vision loss, and others. Of the vision rehabilitation techniques available, most center on neurological and physical approaches.

Rehabilitation is derived from the Latin word habilitas, which means "to make able again". Rehabilitation helps patients achieve physical, social, emotional, spiritual independence and quality of life. Rehabilitation does not undo or reverse the cause of damage; it seeks to promote function and independence through adaptation. Individuals can seek rehabilitation in different domains, such as motor rehabilitation after a stroke or physical rehabilitation after a car accident.

Low vision is a condition where a level of vision is 20/70 or worse and it cannot be fully recovered with medical treatment, surgery, or conventional glasses.

Approximately 14 million Americans suffer from low vision. The prevalence of low vision increases from 1% at age 65 to 4% at age 79, and increases dramatically to 17% after age 80. In addition, the prevalence of low vision is increasing, and depression is becoming a common issue for individuals with low vision.

Low vision is different from blindness in that people with low vision have some useful sight. However, those people often have a hard time accomplishing daily tasks as their vision deteriorates (such as reading, cooking, driving, recognizing people's faces, and discerning color).

Low vision can be caused by many diseases. Though low vision mainly influences the elderly, it can appear at any stage of life. Most people develop low vision as a result of eye conditions and diseases such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataracts, retinitis pigmentosa, and stroke.

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