Blindness
Blindness is a vision problem characterized by a complete lack of functional vision. Blindness can also be described as complete or total vision loss. For example, there is an inability to see objects including light. Blindness is a type of visual impairment where the level of sight loss is so severe that activities that are dependent on eyesight become difficult and impossible. People who become blind often first with visual impairment which progresses into blindness. The eyes and the brain work together to create a vision. The eyes are made up of different parts, including the iris, cornea, retina, and lens. For vision to be created, light rays hit the back of the retina, and optic nerves transmit an electrical signal to the brain so the brain can process and recognize what the eyes are seeing. This process happens instantly in a normal eye. However, in blindness, an adequate amount of light does not hit the retina so there is a complete lack of form and light perception.
Causes of Blindness:
There are many diseases causing blindness, and some may develop later in life.
- Contract
- Trachoma
- Diabetic Retinopathy
- Injury
- Vitamin.A deficiency
- Vascular disease
- Poor hygiene
- Glaucoma
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Corneal opacities
- Trauma
- Uncorrected refractive errors
- Tumors
- Eye surgery
- Onchocerciasis
- Retrolental fibroplasia
- Childhood blindness
Symptoms of Blindness:
The following symptoms can indicate a medical emergency or an urgent condition that could cause blindness.
- The flood of floaters in the field of vision
- Sudden pain or discomfort in the eyes
- Retina changes or dimness of vision
- Sickness of eyelid
- Redness, Nausea, and vomiting
- Double vision or double images
- Sudden blurry vision in one eye
- A gradual loss of field of vision
- Chronic tears from the eyes
- Pain difficulty seen
- Eyes discharge
- Eyes discomfort
Diagnosis of Blindness:
Tests will be performed to measure how pupils react to light, the function of the eye muscle, and clarity of vision. A slit lamp may also be used to determine the general health of the eyes.
- History collection
- Physical examination
- Slit lamp examination
- Ophthalmoscopy
How many people are blind? And types of Blindness:
About 300 million to 400 million people are visually impaired worldwide with about 50 million people blind in either eye.
- Eighty percent of blindness occurs in people above 50% years of age
- In some cases, people may be unable to distinguish certain colors. This is known as color blindness
- Color blindness is prevalent in men and the most common form of color blindness is red-green color blindness. Where people are unable to distinguish between different shades of red and green.
- In night blindness, there is a visual impairment that occurs when the light is dim or at night. This type does not result in complete blindness. People with night blindness are unable to drive at night or see stars.
Preventions of Blindness:
- Vitamin A prophylaxis program
- School eye health program
- Trachoma contract program service
- Occupational eye health services
Treatment of Blindness:
Complete blindness requires approaching life in a new and different way. You may need to learn new skills such as:
1- Using reading braille
2- Using a guide dog
3- Organizing your homes so you can find things easily
4- Memorizing keypads on your phone
5- To prevent complete blindness, do a normal regular eye checkup because early diagnosis and treatment can help slow down the process of blindness
6- Counseling may help may be able to live with the condition
[…] separated from the choroid layer which results in loss of peripheral vision in the early stage. The retina is the thin layer of the eye that is light-sensitive and helps vision by providing signals to the […]
[…] and obstruction and obstructing the passage of light. Cataracts typically progress slowly to cause vision loss and are blinding if untreated. It is the most common cause of reversible blindness in the […]