Making getting mail easier

For most people, opening a locked mailbox in an apartment building is easy. However, if someone has lost some vision, the task becomes much harder. First, all the mailboxes look the same. We recommend, with the approval of the building management, that our patients mark their mailboxes to make them easier to identify. Some brightly colored tape can be used to from a letter that represents the first letter of the last name of the patient. Another approach is to mark the mailbox with a brightly colored bump dot that can be affixed to the patient’s mailbox. The bump dot can both be seen and felt making it easier to identify their mailbox.

Using keys to open locks is always a challenge for low vision patients. We recommend using some brightly colored nail polish to make a circle around the lock. The circle makes a target around the key hole that can both be seen and felt. That way it becomes easier for patients to find the key hole to insert their mailbox key.