It is disappointing that people feel that the use of magnifiers is stigmatising when the enlargement offered can be more helpful than that of spectacles. The problem is that the stronger your reading spectacles, the closer you have to bring yourself to that which you are trying to see. And for many people this short focal length means that there is inadequate lighting and they become very tired.

​

The higher the strength of your magnifier the smaller it is likely to be because of its thickness. This means that the wider types tend to provide an image which is not as enlarged but have a bigger field of vision. It is important for you to find the right combination of magnification and field of view.

​

If you have macular degeneration an enlarged image is essential because you have a central blind spot, and very often it is better to have spectacles supplemented with a device which provides magnification. Nowadays there are digital aids as well as optical ones, and several devices which connect with televisions and computers very simply. Some just require that you point and click as though using a camera. Also reading aids such as Kindles are easy to use and may allow you to see the newspaper.

​

The Guernsey Blind Association exists for those who have a little or a great deal of difficulty with such things, and their shop has a great variety of aids to make life easier. They can be found at Le Four Cabot and their opening hours are Mon-Fri 9.15-11.15 am, tel: 236933.