eyesight

alfjess

Registered User
Jul 10, 2006
1,213
0
south lanarkshire
Hi everyone
Mum's eyesight seems to be dimming. She needs blazing lights all the time, even in daytime. I thought at first it was habit, come into the house and put the lights on, but as days get shorter, the more she needs light, even when it is not at all dark. The way I see it, her vision is becoming darker and she is more agitated and frightened of the dark.
Has anyone else had any experience of this and is there a solution? Is it another symtom of dementia?
I won't be able to get Mum to an optician as she is against anyone, examining her and won't co-operate. Even though her feet are very sore (with corns) she will not let the chriopidist do anything other than talk, or rather listen, while Mum tells her a lot of "stories".
Alfjess
 

noelphobic

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
3,452
0
Liverpool
I don't have in depth knowledge of how eyesight is affected in dementia, but I'm sure someone will come along who does! Is there any possibility that she has cataracts? I don't know whether this would affect someone's perception of light but it's just a thought.
 

mel

Registered User
Apr 30, 2006
1,656
0
66
Sheffield
I'd be interested to know how someone with AD /dementia could actually cope with an eye test......having recently had one myself I found it took a lot of concentration........
good point about the cataracts though....I would imagine they would affect someones sensitivity to light....and I would think they're fairly easy to spot?
 

connie

Registered User
Mar 7, 2004
9,519
0
Frinton-on-Sea
On a completely different tack, my elderst grandson is "special needs" and registered 'partially sighted'. However he copes with most things, BUT, needs to take especial care in dimly lit places (I.E. multi storey carparks) and the like.

I have noticed that Lionel can no longer see SOME THINGS as well as before, and this occurs in the half light.

I still have his eyes tested regularly ( because of his diabetis - GLAUCOMA) but never have his glasses changed. My optician said his response to the test was not good enough.
 

daughter

Registered User
Mar 16, 2005
824
0
I'm sorry I have no answer to your question but your post reminded me of a fairly recent strange incident. When my Dad went into his Home, nearly two years ago, he very quickly lost his glasses. A few months ago when we visited we found he had two new sets of glasses, complete with cases, one pair were for reading. :rolleyes: :confused:

Apparantly the optician had tested Dad - quite how it was done I do not know. I was quite stunned at the utter waste of money and inappropriateness (Dad has trouble keeping his shoes on, let alone a pair of glasses!:eek: ).

Needless to say I believe they have gone missing now, or are sitting unused somewhere. Sorry to be of no help, I do know that aging can bring changes to vision but perhaps your Mum's fear of the dark is making this seem worse to her??
 

PurplePoppy

Registered User
Oct 3, 2005
53
0
Hello Alfjess. Not sure if this is the case everywhere, but when my dad asked the optician about mum's sight he said there were ways of assessing the sight even though mum wouldn't be able to do the normal tests.

We found however with mum, that although she had glasses, it was like her brain wasn't registering what she was seeing. They became useless like her hearing aid that she used to wear, but turned off:eek:

Wishing you well.
 

merlin

Registered User
Aug 2, 2006
139
0
Surrey
Hello Alfjess, I have the same problem with my wife re the dark. Yes it may be cateracts but it may also be a memory. Why I say that is that I have to lead her to the loo in the night with a torch or put the lights on but what I would do on my own is remember the various obstacles in the house and therefore don't need light because I can feel and sense where they are.

As for the eye test she is due one and of course refuses to consider it and in any case would have the same problems. As one of your responses did say that opticians have other methods to assess sight I will pursue that idea.

Good luck keep trying.
 

alfjess

Registered User
Jul 10, 2006
1,213
0
south lanarkshire
Hi Everyone
Thanks for all your replies, unfortunately, I can't get Mum to go to an optician or Doctor. I think, she doesn't want to admit that she can't answer any questions and covers up by becoming verbally aggresive. 3 pychiatrists and various CPNs have tried to do the mini mental exam, with no success.
She has about 8 pairs of glasses (some are Dad's) which she insists are her's and also insists Dad has never worn glasses in his life.
Maybe, I will enquire, if I can get an optician to go to daycare, just to make sure it isn't cataracts. I find she will submit to things in daycare which she won't at home, so I am taking the coward's way out and anything that needs done, I am trying to get done at daycare. They are wonderful. I am assuming an optician would know if it was cataracts or not. I know they may not have equipment, but it is worth trying. Anything for an easier life:D
Alfjess
 

noelphobic

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
3,452
0
Liverpool
I think a GP would possibly also know if there were cataracts or not. My mum's brother-in-law was visiting when my sister arrived one day and he said he thought my mum had cataracts because apparently you can sometimes see what looks like a film over the eyes.
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
What about the visiting optician service? How would she react in her own home? My mother has just had her eyes checked at the hospital - she has cataracts but they are both minor an "patchy" so nothing needs to be done. Just as well, really, as she is very much against eye surgery. If it would make a real difference I could probably push her into it, but as it stands, her loss of vision due to her stroke is the most difficult problem, and there's nothing that can be done about that.
 

Norman

Registered User
Oct 9, 2003
4,348
0
Birmingham Hades
I was concerned about my wife's eyesight and took her for an eye test.
The optician did manage to complete the test,she has focusing problems caused by the AD.
Her eyesight was not much different to her previous test.
The optician suggested that it would be pointless buying new glasses,would she wear them? Would she lose them?
Norman
 

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