Tips to Help You Read if You Have Wet AMD

You may love to read, but if you have wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), you probably don’t love struggling to make out the words — especially when the lighting is dim or you’re looking at the book straight on.

The disease can cause some people to give up reading altogether. This, along with a loss of independence in other tasks, can interfere with overall happiness, says Nader E. Fakhoury, OD, owner of OpoNu Low Vision Care in Chicago and a fellow of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists.

You don’t have to put down that page-turner, though. There are tools that can help you see the words easier or assist with the task of reading by helping shift the burden from your eyes.

What’s most important is that you keep trying to read, even if you’ve given up on it in the past. “The longer a patient hasn’t been able to read, the harder it is to get back into the flow,” Dr. Fakhoury says. He tells his patients that it usually takes one week of relearning for every month you were unable to read. (It’s kind of like getting back on a bike again.)

Here are five expert-backed tools and tips that can help you read better:

1. Wear Specialized Glasses

Bioptic telescopic glasses, prismatic readers, and clear image lenses can help magnify the words on a page. They can make even smaller fonts easier to read. Many people like keeping a pair of eyeglasses on hand wherever they are, says Fakhoury, so they’re at the ready for reading a menu when out to lunch or for reading while sitting in a chair at night.

The price points for all of these glasses differ, so talk to your low vision specialist about what works best for your budget and lifestyle.

2. Fix Your Lighting

You’ll see better in bright light, but there are some caveats. First, the light shouldn’t be so bright that it creates a glare. Glare can interfere with your ability to focus and contribute a lot of heat, which can be uncomfortable.

“You’ll want to strike the right balance where the light provides something closer to natural sunlight without emitting excessive heat,” says Fakhoury.

If your current lighting is causing you problems, consider investing in brighter bulbs or a new lamp. Look for products, including those specified for low vision readers, that say they mimic natural daylight. They illuminate a room similarly to the sun, providing a more balanced light source.

3. Use an E-Reader

Reading books, magazines, and newspapers can be a real struggle, because they use very small fonts. But, an electronic reader (or e-reader) makes it so much easier. It allows you to magnify the text, so the words are large enough to see clearly, and increase the line spacing or margins. Many e-readers let you adjust the contrast to reduce glare or come with glare-free screens, so you can read outside. Some e-readers also offer audio versions of a book.

Not every e-reader can do all of these things, so make sure you check the available functions before buying one.

4. Try Text to Speech

Also called TTS, these programs can read text aloud. On apps and webpages on a Mac, for instance, you can read text by highlighting the words and clicking on “Edit” > “Speech” > “Start Speaking”.

Microsoft Windows also has TTS accessibility features built into the operating system. On apps and web pages, you can use the “Narrator” function by pressing the Windows logo key + Control + Enter.

5. Consider a Magnifier

Magnifiers do just that: make text from a page large enough for you to see it. They come in a variety of styles, including handheld, desktop, and even lamps. The pricier models, such as the desktop magnifiers, can be a secondary tool for helping you read at home, if it’s in your budget — some can cost thousands of dollars, says Fakhoury. But, the downside of these is most aren’t portable, except for a handheld magnifier, so you should still have good pair of glasses on hand, he advises.

For many people, “There’s a very good chance you can get back to doing some of the things you want to do,” says Fakhoury. If that’s reading, it’s a matter of continuing to work at it and bringing the right tools on board. “We tell patients not to lose hope but to stay positive.”