Exams available in Valdosta focus on low-vision problems

Published 2:59 am Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Area residents who have exhausted the usual remedies available to them for vision problems might be interested in a low-vision examination available monthly in Valdosta.

Wendy Mons of Mons International Inc., a company that specializes in helping those with low vision, visits Eye Associates of South Georgia the fourth or fifth Thursday of each month.

Marcus Dickerson, a spokesman for Mons, said a referral from an optometrist or opthamologist is usually required for the low-vision exam.

It’s for people whose vision cannot be helped by medicine, surgery or corrective lenses, Dickerson said.

“The only thing that can help them is low-vision aids or devices,” said Michael Coogan, a spokesman for The National Eye Institute, a federal agency.

Many people seeking such have glaucoma or macular degeneration, Coogan said. His agency estimates 2.2 million people 40 and older in the United States have glaucoma, with 61,000 of them in Georgia. About 1.7 million people in the country have macular degeneration, while 35,000 of them are Georgians, Coogan said.

“It’s becoming more of a serious problem because people are living longer and as their eyes deteriorate, more at risk of major eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration,” Coogan said.

Unfortunately, Medicare, Medicaid and other health insurance plans don’t cover the low-vision exams or products, Dickerson said.

But the company does refer clients to other resources to help pay for products such as magnifiers, telescopes, and talking devices.

For information, call Mons International at (800) 541-7903 or Dr. Alan Peaslee at Eye Associates of South Georgia, 3473 Bemiss Road, 253-8700.