Your Home. Your Safety. Your Choices.
Start with a familiar route, like the one from your bed to the bathroom. Notice where shadows, glare, or hard-to-see edges make you hesitate.
Five ways to make everyday routes easier to navigate
- Check lighting along the whole route. Put the first light within reach before you stand and adjust lamps that create glare.
- Make edges and controls easier to see. Consider contrast where a step, handrail, or switch blends into the background.
- Keep familiar routes predictable. Give shoes and cords a place outside the walking path. Let others know when furniture moves.
- Talk with your eye care team about difficult situations. Describe what happens on stairs or in bright sunlight. If you wear bifocals or progressives, ask whether your eyewear suits those tasks. A trial of separate distance glasses found uncertain effects on falls overall, with results varying by outdoor activity level. VISIBLE trial
- Ask for help with a route you want to keep using. An occupational therapist can observe how you get around at home and help you choose changes that fit your routines.
Plan ahead if your vision changes
Some causes of visual impairment, including glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration, can worsen over time. The pace and pattern vary. Ask your eye care team what changes to expect, what treatment can help preserve, and when to call if something changes.
Choose one activity you want to keep doing and practice a backup routine. Try spoken phone directions or tactile appliance labels, or work with an orientation and mobility specialist on a familiar route. If you depend on driving, identify another ride option. If daily tasks are getting harder, ask about vision rehabilitation.
Three actions for today
- Pick one route and notice where you hesitate or reach for support.
- Try one change, such as clearing the path or moving a lamp.
- Ask someone to watch you walk the route and help identify where a change would make it easier.
What the evidence shows
In the VIP randomized trial, community-dwelling adults aged 75 and older with severe visual impairment who received a tailored home safety program led by an occupational therapist had a 41% lower fall rate (rate ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.42–0.83). VIP trial