(925) 829-8770
or contact us online
Donate Now
Donate Now Contact 925.829.8770
  • ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Where We Serve
    • Careers
    • Press Room
  • SERVICES
    • COVID-19 Information
    • Hospice Care
      • Hospice Care FAQs
      • Hospice Patient / Family Referral
    • Grief Support
    • Dementia Support
    • Family Caregiver Support
    • Advanced Illness Care
  • GRIEF SUPPORT
    • For Adults
    • For Children and Teens
  • VOLUNTEER
    • Program Overview
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Interest Form
    • Volunteer FAQs
  • DONATE
    • Online Donation Form
    • Season of Hope Ornaments
    • Ways to Donate
    • Legacy Giving
    • Donating Securities
    • Leadership Circles
  • EVENTS & RESOURCES
    • Family Caregiver Education Series
    • Town Hall Webinars
    • Calendar of Events
    • Publications
    • Testimonial Videos
    • Helpful Information
  • PHYSICIAN REFERRALS
    • Hospice Referral
    • Eligibility Criteria
    • Education & Training
  • BLOG

View All Blogs
  • Filter by tags

    • Caregiver Mistakes Series
    • Caregiver Tips
    • Dementia
    • Hope's Story
    • Hospice
    • Senior care
    • social work
    • Spiritual care
December 26th, 2019

Vision Decline in Dementia Patients

woman using magnifying glass to help read

 

Caregivers commonly observe vision decline in dementia patients. People living with dementia commonly experience changes to their vision beyond what’s expected as part of the normal aging process. As dementia-related illnesses cause progressive brain deterioration, a person will experience certain sight deficits because the brain is no longer processing what the eyes see in the same way. Some common problem areas include:

Depth perception

The patient may exhibit difficulty in navigating steps, grabbing objects, and distinguishing between two- and three-dimensional scenes. With the latter, for instance, the person may try to pick up flowers from a floral-printed tablecloth.

Reduced peripheral range

In your youth, you likely enjoyed 180 degrees of clarity in front of you. As we age, we naturally experience a narrowing of our field of vision. For a person living with dementia, this process is on overdrive and it may cause them to not see a caregiver approaching from the side, or even a plate of food in front of them if they are not directly looking at it.

illustration shows reduced peripheral range

Facial recognition

Dementia symptoms include confusion and memory loss. But that may not be all that’s in play when a patient seems to not recognize a loved one or frequent visitor. Damage to certain parts of the brain may cause misidentification of people, like thinking a man is one’s brother instead of husband. The problem similarly manifests itself in instances like seeing a red ball and calling it an apple. 

Color and contrast decline

Problems detecting contrast are commonly found in the bathroom, where the white toilet and seat disappear against a white tile floor. Mealtimes, already a challenge for some who struggle with swallowing, is problematic when, for example, white mashed potatoes aren’t noticed when served on a white dinner plate. Additionally, reduced ability to distinguish colors may result in a person picking out mismatched clothing. 

Learn more

Dementia expert Teepa Snow explains vision decline in dementia patients:

Hope Hospice Uses Animatronic Pets to Comfort Isolated Patients

DUBLIN, CA – Hope Hospice is using animatronic pets to help lessen the impact that pandemic-related isolation has had on […]

An animatronic cat is presented to an elderly man.

Hope Hospice Animatronic Pet Program for Dementia Care

Hope Hospice is using animatronic pets to help lessen the impact that pandemic-related isolation has had on its patients. Joy […]

HOSPICE CARE
  • Hospice Care FAQs
  • Hospice Patient / Family Referral
GRIEF SUPPORT
  • Grief Support
VOLUNTEERING
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Volunteer FAQs
  • Volunteer Application
DONATE
ABOUT
  • Our Service Area
  • Careers
CLASSES & RESOURCES
  • Family Caregiver Education Series
  • Helpful Information
FOR HEALTHCARE
PROFESSIONALS
  • Education & Training
  • Eligibility Criteria
Hope Hospice Logo

6377 Clark Avenue
Suite 100

Dublin, CA 94568-3024

Phone: (925) 829-8770

Main FAX: (925) 829-0868

Joint Commission Accredited State Licensed, Medicare and Medi-cal Certified

Joint Commission Accredited
State Licensed, Medicare and
Medi-Cal Certified

We Honor Veterans Badge
California Hospice and Palliative Care Association Badge signifying our membership.

Hope Hospice Honors Veterans

COPYRIGHT © 2019 HOPE HOSPICE INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRIVACY POLICY – TERMS OF USE

MENU
  • ABOUT
    • Our Mission
    • Where We Serve
    • Careers
    • Press Room
  • SERVICES
    • COVID-19 Information
    • Hospice Care
      • Hospice Care FAQs
      • Hospice Patient / Family Referral
    • Grief Support
    • Dementia Support
    • Family Caregiver Support
    • Advanced Illness Care
  • GRIEF SUPPORT
    • For Adults
    • For Children and Teens
  • VOLUNTEER
    • Program Overview
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Interest Form
    • Volunteer FAQs
  • DONATE
    • Online Donation Form
    • Season of Hope Ornaments
    • Ways to Donate
    • Legacy Giving
    • Donating Securities
    • Leadership Circles
  • EVENTS & RESOURCES
    • Family Caregiver Education Series
    • Town Hall Webinars
    • Calendar of Events
    • Publications
    • Testimonial Videos
    • Helpful Information
  • PHYSICIAN REFERRALS
    • Hospice Referral
    • Eligibility Criteria
    • Education & Training
  • BLOG

LET HOPE HELP

Phone: (925) 829-8770

How shall we contact you?

I would like information on:

Hospice Care
Home Health
Grief Support
Volunteering
Consultation
Other