I know most of you know all about the basics of being partially sighted, but I figured I should make a list of the things that make having low vision a bit more tolerable. So here are the things that I carry in my backpack every day that I use to see things that I otherwise would have trouble with.
The first and probably most helpful item in my arsenal is a handheld magnifier. Since not all magnifiers are created equal, I carry two of them. The first one is a fairly low power folding magnifier with an LED light on it. I use this one for reading books, enlarging text on my phone or computer, or getting serial numbers from the back of devices. The other magnifier I use is a jeweler’s loop. This is a very small but very high power magnifier that I use for those times when what I need to see is really small.
The next device in my murse (man purse) is a monocular. This is great for reading signs, looking for landmarks, seeing what is across the street, or just checking out the view. There are all kinds of monoculars. Everything from pocket sized ones to giant military type units. The main differences are the amount of magnification and the width of the eye piece. I’ve noticed that there seems to be a correlation between the amount of magnification and the size of the viewer, meaning that if you have a very powerful monocular the eyepiece is going to be a pinhole.
One of my most critical pieces of gear as a person with low vision is my white cane. I know a lot of people who are high partials don’t like to use canes but it has come in handy when asking people for directions. People don’t brush me off as easily if they see a cane in my hand. Also, it can be hard to see the curb or a set of stairs especially on a bright and sunny day. So, I may feel a little awkward carrying a cane when I can see pretty well, but it saves me the embarrassment of falling on my face quite often.
My next helpful device is a talking compass, which helps me figure out which direction I am facing. Recently I have started using a Talking Compass app on my iPhone rather than my hardware talking compass. This is great because I can’t always figure out which side of the street my bus is going to be on. If I know I want the westbound bus, I can align myself with the traffic and find out if the traffic is flowing east or west.
I’ve never been much for sunglasses as they tend to dull the contrast of everything around me and make it hard to see things, but they are a godsend on those bright days where going outside causes your eyes to shrivel up into little “face raisins”. Since the traditional type of sunglasses don’t fit over the top of my regular glasses very well, I use a pair of wrap-around sunglasses or a set of clip-on flip-up sunglasses. Again, its a rare occasion for me to use sunglasses but they can and do come in handy from time to time.
Another helpful item to keep on hand is a baseball cap. I’m not much for wearing hats… my bald spot gets mad if I don’t give it attention. However, the sun can sometimes throw so much glare that its hard to see what is in front of you. A hat keeps you from having to shield your face with your hand all the time. Also, on rainy days where your vision can be obscured by raindrops on your glasses, a hat makes a handy barrier between your eyes and the falling drops of water.
Sometimes I have to write something down but the pen or pencil I used was fairly dull or light colored which makes reading the critical information a pain. This is why I always carry a 20/20 felt tip marker. The writing always comes out nice and bold and easy to read later.
Sometimes you find yourself stuck outdoors in the dark with no street lights to show you the way. This is why I always carry a small flashlight in my magic bag of tricks. It’s also helpful when you drop something on the floor and there isn’t enough light to help you find it again. The one I carry is a head mounted light. I use this because my cane is usually in one hand and I like to try and keep at least one hand free in case I fall down and have to catch myself. Also, with the head mounted light, it will shine anywhere you happen to be looking which really helps.
The last but probably most versatile thing I carry with me is my iPhone. It’s got an app for almost every situation. There are apps for looking up the mass transit schedule, apps to find your way home via GPS, magnification apps, distance viewing apps, reading and OCR apps, and even a flashlight app or two!
We’ll cover the apps that help me the most in a future article, until then why don’t you post your list of helpful devices in the comments section?
