Adding contrast to text

Reading mail is one of the most difficult challenges for a low vision patient. The writing is too small to read and often is placed on a background with poor contrast. There are ways to increase the contrast. For the vast majority of our patients, black text with a yellow background is much easier to read. While most mail text is written on a white background, there are some simple ways to make the background yellow. One way is to simply use a yellow highlighter. We teach our patients to use the yellow highlighter over any text they want to read. There is another way to create a yellow background on larger pieces of text, a yellow acetate overlay. The overlay comes in 8.5” x 11” sheets. We teach patients to simply put the yellow overlay on top of anything that has text. After they do that, the text jumps out and is easier to read. These overlays are available at the Carroll Center store in Newton for $1 per sheet and on Amazon for $12.99 for twelve sheets.

In addition to creating a yellow background, we would recommend using a simple desk light. While there are different price ranges for desk lamps, we believe that a simple $20 desk lamp will work. In fact, we would recommend buying two; one for the desk where bills get paid and one in the kitchen.