You’ve spent a lifetime depending primarily on your central vision, and this habit can be hard to break. Now that you have macular degeneration, your best vision area probably lies somewhere in your peripheral vision. You must make a conscious effort to locate this area.
The best way to do this is to place a brightly colored object somewhere in front of you. Face the object and look up, down, left and right. After you practice this a few times, you will probably find a spot in your peripheral vision that is less fuzzy than the rest of the field.
Once you’ve located this area, it takes practice to learn to “favor” it. This may entail turning your head slightly away from the object you wish to see, and will no doubt feel unnatural at first.
In the beginning, you will need to practice seeing with your peripheral vision for several minutes at different intervals of each day, resting your eyes between each interval. It takes time to learn to see with peripheral vision, but if you practice consistently, at some point your new way of looking will become habitual.
Reviewed on 2/14/2008