The challenges associated with low vision are many, but you can effectively help your loved one live better with glaucoma. The non-profit BrightFocus Foundation discusses six important areas of caregiving to help your loved one adapt to the disease while not neglecting yourself in the process.* These include:

• Low-vision aids
• Eye doctor visits
• Home safety
• Errands and shopping
• Getting about/mobility
• Emotional impacts

Low-vision assistance

There are assistive devices that can help people with glaucoma make the most of their remaining vision so they can maintain their daily lives. These are often covered by insurance:

• Customized magnifiers for close-up tasks, like reading,
• Computerized text-to-speech devices, and
• Telescopes for distance viewing.

Eye doctor appointments

Accompany your loved one on eye doctor appointments to record recommendations. This is a good time to ask which visual aids are the best match for your loved one’s needs. Other aids include:

• Audiobooks, and
• Large-print items (books, playing cards, etc.).

Home safety

It’s also important to improve visibility in your home environment to reduce the risk of falls and other accidents. To do this, you can:

• Improve lighting, especially in the kitchen, bathroom, work spaces, and transitional areas using high-wattage bulbs, additional lamps, task lights, and/or border lights.
• Improve organization through decluttering, labeling important items, etc.
• Make a list of important contacts (doctors, emergency services, transportation) in large print on paper with bold lines, and place it in a convenient location.
• Mark stairs or slopes with brightly colored and/or reflective tape that contrasts well with flooring.

Errands and shopping

“Getting out of the house can lift the spirits of a person with low vision,” says BrightFocus. They suggest offering to take your loved one shopping with you once a week. To make the trip easier and more productive:

• Make a list ahead of time, and
• Help them find the items.

Encourage them to do as much as possible themselves, but stay close by in case help is needed.

Getting about/mobility

Traveling is another important consideration when caring for someone with low vision. BrightFocus suggests that you:

• Help them find all available transportation options, such as those often provided by churches, senior centers, and other organizations. 
• Stay a few steps ahead when walking together, so you can alert them to changes in the terrain, curbs, steps, etc. 
• To better prepare for mobility issues when out together, learn all you can about the person’s specific visual issues, like the typical loss of peripheral vision from glaucoma.

Emotional impacts

A glaucoma diagnosis can cause shock, anger, depression, and other negative emotions and cause a person to worry about the impact of lost vision on their driving and independence.

As a new caregiver, you may harbor concerns about how the disease may impact your relationship with your loved one. It’s important to discuss how both of you are feeling, so you can come to an understanding and overcome any emotional hurdles.

• Treating vision loss as a family issue will help both you and your loved one to adjust.

Helping yourself

To help you succeed as a caregiver: 

• Learn as much as you can about glaucoma by using The Glaucoma Community app and other helpful resources.
• Encourage your loved one to communicate with you about how you can help them (the more specific, the better).

Last but not least, it’s critical to attend to your own wellness. Practice self-care and request help when needed, whether from friends, family, or a home aide service. Caregiver support groups are an invaluable resource.

*BrightFocus Foundation. (n.d.). Glaucoma Caregiving. https://www.brightfocus.org/glaucoma/resources/caregiving