“Appropriate Light & Desk Lamps for Patients Suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa”
According to Wikepedia, “Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is one of the most common forms of inherited retinal degeneration. This disorder is characterized by the progressive loss of photoreceptor cells and may eventually lead to blindness.
There are multiple genes that, when mutated, can cause the retinitis pigmentosa phenotype. In 1989, a mutation of the gene for rhodopsin, a pigment that plays an essential part in the visual transduction cascade enabling vision in low-light conditions, was identified. Since then, more than 100 mutations have been found in this gene, accounting for 15% of all types of retinal degeneration. Most of those mutations are missense mutations and inherited mostly in a dominant manner.”
As symptoms develop, it enables one to have poor night vision and a slow loss of peripheral or tunnel vision which can be extremely difficult for one to work at night time for instance.
Doctors Windsor and Windsor in their article Understanding the Visual Problems in Retinitis Pigmentosa explain that “most doctors often fail to understand the severity of the light and glare problems with retinitis pigmentosa patients and that by adding good lighting around the patient’s home, carrying a broad beam flashlight and the use of infrared night scopes have all been used to aid patients at night.”
OttLite’s Better Vision products such as desk clamp lamps can aid one to work on a computer at night, watch TV, read, write, sew or craft, and can really be effective for one suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa. The Crane Desk Lamp is such an asset to someone with RP, that it is perfect on a side table next to your couch, on a desk, or by the bed, and with its long extendable reach; it can illuminate large areas or can be focused downward for low illumination. As Dr. Windsor and Windsor mention the severity of light and glare problems with RP patients, our clamp desk lamps 508 High Definition Technology provides low glare illumination and helps reduce eyestrain. Thus, being a much more useful light as opposed to an incandescent lighting which only increases eyestrain, glare, added heat, and headaches for patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa.