Using credit cards

Using credit cards to make a purchase is simply how we do things nowadays. It is easy to understand how a low vision patient can't read those tiny numbers with the poor contrast that most cards have.

One approach to make reading credit cards easier is to use magnifiers and good lighting. While that can work, we recommend an easier method. We teach our patients to write down the credit card information on a separate note card. Writing down the information using a black marker on a yellow note card makes it easier to read the numbers. If possible, a friend or relative can type and print out the information using a computer to make the font even larger, 18 or 20 point. We then recommend that the patient file the cards in a recipe box or a file folder to keep everything organized.

Thank you to Janice Glynn, one our occupational therapists, for the idea for this article.