Medical Centric

BLINDNESS

Nervous System Diseases / By

BLINDNESS

Blindness is a vision problem characterized by a complete lack of functional vision.

  • Blindness can also be described as a complete or total vision loss in i.e. 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 go blind often battle first with visual impairment, which then 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.
  • About 300 million to 400 million people are visually impaired worldwide, with about 50 million people totally 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.

CAUSES

There are many diseases causing blindness, and some may develop later in life.

  • Diabetes causes diabetic retinopathy, which results in retina destruction.
  • Cataracts
  • Glaucoma
  • Age-related macular degeneration
  • Corneal opacities
  • Trachoma
  • Trauma to the surface of the eye such as from chemical burns or sport injuries
  • Uncorrected refractive errors
  • Tumors such as optic glioma or retinoblastoma
  • Complications from eye surgery
  • Onchocerciasis
  • Retrolental fibroplasia, a complication from premature birth
  • Childhood blindness

Night blindness may be caused by vitamin A deficiency, birth defects, and a retina disease called retinitis pigmentosa.

SYMPTOMS

The following symptoms can indicate a medical emergency or an urgent condition that could cause blindness

  • A sensation that black curtain has settled over your field of view.
  • A flood of floaters in the field of vision
  • Sudden pain or discomfort in the eyes
  • Retina changes or dimness of vision
  • Stickiness of eyelid
  • Redness, nausea, and vomiting
  • Double vision, or double images
  • Sudden blurry vision in one eye
  • a gradual loss of field of vision
  • a cloudy and blurred eyesight
  • chronic tearing from the eyes
  • constant eye rubbing

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

A thorough diagnosis will be carried out by an optometrist to determine the cause of your blindness

Tests will be performed to measure how your pupils react to light, the function of your eye muscles and the clarity of your vision.

A slit lamp may also be used to determine the general health of your eyes.

TREATMENT

Complete blindness requires approaching life in a new and different way. You may need to learn new skills such as:

  • Using reading braille
  • Using a guide dog
  • Organizing your homes so you can find thing easily
  • Memorizing keypads on your phone.

To prevent complete blindness, do a normal regular eye checkup because early diagnosis and treatment can help slow down the process of blindness.