Blindness

Blindness or visual impairment is a term used for people who are blind or partially sighted. You may have some distortion or a loss of sight if one is visually impaired. Depending on the severity of loss of vision, the conditions are either blindness or partial sightedness.

Loss of sight can be gradual or severe and sudden. Mostly, it is the former, with vision of distant objects slowly becoming obsolete. Along with the reduction in vision, one may experience other symptoms like a burning sensation in the eye, eye pain, or distorted vision. Nevertheless, such problems are caused by specific problems related to the eye such as glaucoma, cataracts or dry eye syndrome.

CAUSES OF BLINDNESS

There are many reasons and causes for blindness.
Trauma or injury to the eye.
Abnormal growth of blood vessel following diabetes and premature birth.
Macular degeneration.
Genetic conditions like retinitis pigmentosa.

Blindness, in a developing nation, may be a result of infectious diseases or a deficiency of vitamin A.

Other conditions that could cause blindness include
Cataracts. Causes blurred vision. Bright lights are dazzling and colour causes blurred vision.
Dry eye syndrome. The eye has a gritty sensation.
Diabetic retinopathy. Difficulty focusing and double vision.
Distorted vision is caused by macular degeneration, a condition in which straight lines appear wavy and objects appear smaller or larger than they are in real.
Sub-acute glaucoma. Causes a dull achy pain and foggy vision.

Age-related macular degeneration is another common cause for reduced vision and is a result of wear and tear in the eye.

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND DIAGNOSIS

Snellen test is a basic test, used to determine how good the vision is and to find out any problems with the eye.

A Visual Field Test (also known as the Humphrey Visual Field Assessment) is a test to test the peripheral (side) vision.

Tonometry is used to test for conditions such as glaucoma. It measures the pressure in the eyeball.

Ophthalmoscopy is used by optometrists to look at the inside of the eye in detail including the optic nerve.

PREVENTING VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

Regular eye checkups are really important or the health of the eye. It is also important to prevent damage due to ignorance of a disease or condition.

Precautions to be followed to prevent eye damage:
Having a regular eye check up, once in at least every five years. In case a diabetic, it should be done more often.
Sun protection. Protecting your eyes from the sun, from ultra violet rays is important. It is important to wear sunglasses with a high UV protection factor to protect the eye from ultra violet rays in the sun.
Checking family history for glaucoma or other eye diseases. It is advisable to get checked every two years if a relative of the family has glaucoma.

If you have any pain in your eye or changes in vision, it is advisable to visit an optometrist immediately and get your eyes checked. Smokers are three times more prone to eye problems due to some chemicals found in cigarette smoke.