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BLINDNESS, inability to see, i.e. perceive visual stimuli due to pathological changes in the eyes, optic nerves or brain. Practical blindness is a term denoting loss of vision to such an extent that it warrants receipt of government benefits or benefits. In the United States, vision loss is recognized as such, in which remote vision with your best eye(central visual acuity) with maximum correction does not exceed 6/60 or the maximum diameter of the visual field does not exceed 20 degrees. A person with 6/60 visual acuity must stand 6 meters away to see an object that a person with normal vision sees at a distance of 60 meters. With a field of view of 20 degrees and less people, placed in the center of a huge dial facing 12 o'clock, will not be able to see the nearby markers 1 and 11.

IN different countries Blindness is defined in different ways. In 1972, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the following definition: a person is considered blind if central visual acuity under best correction conditions does not exceed 3/60. With such vision, a person in daylight conditions is unable to count fingers from a distance of 3 meters. According to WHO definition, a person is also considered blind if the diameter of his field of vision does not exceed 10 degrees (with frontal gaze fixation).

The term “blindness” is also used in relation to certain visual impairments not associated with a decrease in visual acuity. This usage is not entirely correct. For example, color blindness - a condition that does not affect visual acuity - would be more correctly called a defect color perception. Color blindness affects almost exclusively males, and most often it comes down to the inability to distinguish shades of red or green. With the so-called Night (night) blindness disrupts the adaptation of the eye to darkness and a person ceases to see in low light conditions. Usually this condition is associated with a lack of vitamin A or with a congenital pathology of the choroid or retina, for example, retinitis pigmentosa, in which degenerative changes progress in the retina and lumps of pigment are deposited.

Prevalence and frequency.

In the United States, approximately 10 million people have irreversible visual impairment. About 1.5 million of them, even using glasses, cannot read newspaper text. Approximately 0.5 million people in the United States suffer from practical blindness. However, most of these people retain some remnants of vision. Every year in the United States, 45–50 thousand new cases of practical blindness are registered.

The overall prevalence of blindness in the world is very difficult to estimate; according to rough estimates International agency prevention of blindness, this figure currently reaches 23 million people.

MAIN CAUSES OF BLINDNESS

The estimated causes of blindness worldwide, defined as visual acuity 6/60 or worse, are approximately 17 million with cataracts, 6 million with trachoma, 1 million with onchocerciasis and 1 million with xerophthalmia. (These conditions are described below.) The leading causes of blindness in the United States are age-related optic locular degeneration, glaucoma, senile cataracts, atrophy optic nerve, diabetic retinopathy and retinitis pigmentosa.

Degeneration of the optic spot.

Age-related degeneration of the optic spot, a small area of ​​the retina that determines the acuity of central vision, causes blindness in approximately 116,000 people in the United States; Every year, 165,000 older people suffer from optic lesions age group, of which 16,000 become blind. Currently, however, laser therapy is used to prevent practical loss of vision in cases where the degeneration process is accompanied by the formation of new retinal vessels.

Glaucoma.

It is possible that glaucoma causes about a fifth of all cases of blindness in the world. Based on available data, 1% of all people over 40 years of age suffer from some form of this disease. In the United States, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness: it causes vision loss in approximately 62,000 Americans classified as virtually blind, and glaucoma causes vision loss in 95,000 people each year. The disease is characterized by a significant increase in intraocular pressure, which is accompanied by a progressive decrease in peripheral vision due to irreversible damage to the optic nerve. Treatment - medication, surgery or laser - is aimed at reducing intraocular pressure.

Vascular disorders of the retina.

Diabetic retinopathy (damage to the small vessels that supply the retina) is the most common eye complication of diabetes mellitus and main reason new cases of vision loss among US adults. It underlies the blindness of more than 32,000 Americans and threatens dramatic vision loss for 300,000 people with diabetes each year. At certain stages of diabetic retinopathy, laser therapy successfully prevents severe vision loss. In some cases it is possible, at least partially, to restore lost vision through a surgery called a vitrectomy, which removes the hardened and therefore opaque gel in the center of the eyeball.

Each year in the United States, more than 85,000 people develop another vascular diseases retina, namely: retinopathy of prematurity (retrolental fibroplasia), in which in premature babies who receive too much oxygen, the development of blood vessels in the retina is disrupted and fibrous tissue grows; sickle cell retinopathy, characterized by thrombosis of retinal vessels and hemorrhages into it, in patients with sickle cell anemia; thrombosis (blockage) of the retinal veins, as well as vascular lesions associated with arterial hypertension and atherosclerosis.

Cataract

– clouding of the lens of the eye, leading to blurred vision. Many people consider cataracts an inevitable sign of old age, but they can occur at any age, even in the prenatal period. Around the world, about 17 million people suffer from cataracts, and at least 3 million develop them every year. In Africa, the Near and Middle East and Latin America, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness. In the United States, approximately 60% of people aged 65–74 years have some degree of cataract, and 3.3 million suffer from vision impairment. At least 43 thousand of them are blind, and approximately 4,700 new cases of blindness due to cataracts are registered annually.

The only one effective method Treatment is surgical removal of the clouded lens. In the United States, 600,000 such operations are performed every year, and in approximately 90-95% of cases, patients begin to see, although they require glasses, contact lenses or implantation of an artificial lens. Globally, however, only 10–20% of cataract sufferers undergo surgical treatment.

Trachoma.

This contagious disease, which affects the connective membrane and cornea of ​​the eyes, is caused by special bacteria - chlamydia. Although economically developed countries Trachoma is not common in Europe and North America; 500 million people suffer from it worldwide. Of these, less than 6 million are blind and approximately 100 million patients have visual impairments, which sooner or later can lead to complete blindness. In Africa, the Near and Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, South-East Asia and among separate groups population of central Australia and Latin America trachoma is endemic, i.e. a disease that constantly occurs in the area. In developing countries, in certain areas with the highest population density, up to 90–95% of residents suffer from it. Although trachoma can be successfully treated with topical antibiotics and other medications, it is almost impossible to control without changing the living conditions that promote its spread.

Onchocerciasis,

Xerophthalmia and keratomalacia.

The main cause of xerophthalmia (severe dryness of the conjunctiva due to lack of tear secretion) and a more severe condition called keratomalacia (degeneration, ulceration and eventual perforation of the cornea) is vitamin A deficiency, which almost always accompanies malnutrition. The most severe manifestations of most forms of vitamin A deficiency are corneal melting and perforation eyeballs. In developing countries this is one of the the most important reasons blindness. In Asia alone, signs of xerophthalmia are detected annually in approximately 5 million children, and about 250,000 of them become blind. The global prevalence of keratomalacia among children aged 1 to 6 years is reported to be 20 per 10,000. In Asia, it affects at least 100,000 children annually and is also widespread in the Near and Middle East, Africa and South America. Improving the nutritional status of the world's population could significantly reduce the incidence of xerophthalmia and keratomalacia.

Injuries.

There are no global statistics on blindness and vision loss due to eye injuries, but some data can be provided for individual countries. In Nigeria, for example, 25% of those blinded by accidents are schoolchildren. In developing countries with poor health care, even mild scratches to the cornea often lead to ulceration, infection, and eventual loss of the eye. In the United States, eye injuries are thought to be the cause of blindness in about 19,000 people and cause some degree of vision loss in nearly 1 million. Every year in the United States, 300,000 eye injuries occur at work, 160,000 at school, and 40,000 during play and play. sports activities, and estimates show that if precautions are taken and safety glasses are worn, eye injuries could be avoided in 90% of cases.

HELP FOR THE BLIND

Since the early 1970s, a number of devices have been introduced or improved to assist the blind and visually impaired. The most important are magnifying systems similar to a TV, which make it possible to adjust the brightness, contrast and clarity of the image of an object, as well as a number of night vision systems using infrared radiation. Other designs use sonars and radars to give the blind person an idea of ​​surrounding objects and alert him to nearby obstacles; computer-enhanced speech reading devices; equipment that turns visual images into tactile signals, as well as materials that enhance tactile sensations during direct reading and writing in Braille. The most famous devices include “talking” watches and calculators, wrist watch, telling the time when you touch them. In addition, guide dogs, which help the blind to move and brighten up their loneliness, also retain their importance.


You've probably all seen blind people, but have you ever asked them why this happened? I worked with blind people, and when I first came into their community and looked at their medical histories, I was speechless for a while. 90% of people were born with good vision, but lost it later.

What are the main reasons that people become visually impaired?

1. Retinal detachment

2. Glaucoma and cataracts

3. Medical manipulation of the eyes

Life story

Natalya is 36 years old. Five years ago, three months before giving birth, her husband left her, her vision dropped to -7 within a week, and during childbirth her retina detached. His vision deteriorates to the point that he can’t even see his nails clearly. Two operations in Odessa clinic did not improve vision even by 1%. It cost about 7000 USD. They offer a third one, without a single guarantee.

So what is this terrible diagnosis - “Retinal Detachment” and who is at risk?

Where is this part of the eye - the retina - located and how does it work.

Nowadays it is fashionable to compare the work of the eyes with the work of a film camera. So, the retina is in inside eyes opposite the pupil. This is a thin film, a kind of mesh, consisting of photosensitive cells that react to light. It depends on her: whether a person will see at all. If the eye is a “camera”, then the retina is a “film”. If something happens to her, then any light will be “not a big deal” for a person.

When a person's eye is functioning normally, as evidenced by good vision, the retina is tightly attached to the supporting tissue of the eye. And detachment is its separation from it. In this case, its connection with the nerve fibers that send signals to the brain is disrupted. Like a broken wire in an electrical network.

Myopic people are at greatest risk.

At the same time, than worse vision, the more danger they are exposed to. Any blow to the head, severe stress, etc. can lead to fatal consequences.

The person does not experience pain.

Imagine that yesterday you could see well, but after an accident, today you are visually impaired to such an extent that you can no longer write or read. Your life will change dramatically and will never be the same.

Warning signs of retinal detachment

√ If you suddenly notice floating spots, flashes of light;

√ If vision becomes blurry or poor;

√ If you see a shadow or curtain falling from the top of the eye or from the bottom side.

These signs may increase gradually as the retina will begin to move away from the supporting tissue, or may appear unexpectedly if the retina detaches suddenly.

About one in seven people with sudden onset of flares and floating particles have this problem.

There are alarming cases where retinal detachment has occurred after LASIK surgery in extremely nearsighted people. (-8-20D)

Cataract surgery, tumors, eye diseases and chronic diseases such as diabetes and anemia can also cause retinal detachment.

Famous people who had retinal detachment

Journalist, publisher and political activist Joseph Pulitzer. He became blind in both eyes when he was over 40.

Soccer star Pele;

Theodore Roosevelt loved boxing. In a match during his presidency, he was hit in the head, which newspapers reported caused partial blindness in his left eye.

Treatment of retinal detachment

Medicine suggests surgical repair of the retina only.

Types of surgery

Scleroplasty. This is the most common retinal surgery. A small group of silicone or plastic compresses are placed on the outside of the eye (sclera). These “buckles” tighten the eye, thereby allowing the retina to reattach to the inner wall of the eye. I personally have not met a single person who would have been radically helped by this operation. For a very short time (a week or two), the person saw a little better, then everything returned.

Vitrectomy.

Pneumatic retinopexy.

Retinal reattachment surgery is not always successful. Success depends on the location, cause, and extent of the retinal detachment, along with other factors.

In addition, successful retinal attachment does not guarantee normal vision. If a person wears glasses, he will still need them.

You ask: what to do, how to protect yourself?

Yes, everything is the same, my friends - we need to restore the functioning of our eyes. That is, eliminate the cause of all these troubles. After all, eye diseases are not independent diseases - they are consequences of functional impairment of the eyes. And poor vision is a witness to disrupted work, good vision - to normal work.

And, of course, as a teacher of a natural way to correct vision and restore eye health, I offer the most reliable method, proven for a century - the method developed by Dr. William Bates.

I owe my good eyesight to him, and hundreds of my students give him glory and honor for long life my eyes, and I wish the same for you. Join us. Subscribe to my online courses. Or purchase video discs for the whole family. Take advantage of my 10 years of experience. I advise all my students for life.

Yes, you may ask, what happened to my student Natalya. So on the 4th day of classes, she saw her nails and burst into tears with... happiness.

Want to ? Don't be shy, I'll definitely answer!

Whatever the causes of blindness, they all indicate that at some point the visual apparatus was damaged. A person may lose the ability to see either partially or completely. Everything will depend on how serious the situation is and how long the pathology lasts without medical intervention. According to doctors, many people could maintain visual function if they were more attentive to their health.

Various pathological disorders contribute to the occurrence of blindness.

The risk of going blind occurs when:

  1. Light rays cannot focus normally on the retina or do not reach it.
  2. The condition of the retina prevents the correct perception of light.
  3. The brain receives curved nerve impulses coming from the retina.
  4. The brain does not at all capture the information that comes to it from the visual organs.

Similar changes are observed as a result of the development of many diseases. Blindness is usually experienced by patients suffering from cataracts or glaucoma.

In addition to the listed ailments, the presence of the following diseases poses a serious danger:

  • keratitis (the cornea becomes cloudy due to the inflammatory process);
  • diabetic retinopathy (severe consequence of diabetes);
  • trachoma (infection into the organs of vision);
  • onchocerciasis (eyes and skin are affected by helminths).

Blindness in one eye cannot be ruled out as a result of traumatic damage to the visual analyzer. Irreversible changes are often the result of damage to the occipital part of the brain.

Elderly people should be regularly seen by an ophthalmologist, since the possibility of losing visual function is very high.

The child may go blind if some negative factors occurred during pregnancy. For example, the rubella virus, which travels with the mother’s blood to the developing fetus, can cause serious conditions in the baby, in particular, cataracts. When the cornea does not receive enough vitamin A, the child develops xerophthalmia. Vision is permanently lost due to retinopathy of premature infants, which is accompanied by pathological changes in the retina.

Loss of the ability to see often occurs after chemical poisoning. For example, because of methanol, people not only go blind, but also die. A small dose of methyl alcohol (30 ml) is enough for the optic nerve to stop functioning.

Types of condition and symptoms

Blindness is not a separate disease. Its occurrence is provoked by ailments, pathologies and disorders that are directly related to the visual system. This term is commonly used to describe various conditions in which there is complete or almost complete loss of vision.

In medicine, the following types of blindness are distinguished:

  1. Absolute. The patient completely loses visual functions. He does not distinguish between light and darkness, and cannot visually perceive the shape and color of objects, as well as the distance between them. Absolute blindness is usually diagnosed at birth.
  2. Practical. There is the presence of residual vision. Although color perception and light perception are present, due to low visual capabilities a person cannot receive information about the world around him in full.
  3. Chicken. In poor lighting conditions, vision is significantly reduced.
  4. Snezhnaya. It is temporary in nature and is provoked by the influence of excessive amounts of ultraviolet radiation, as a result of which the cornea swells.
  5. Colorblindness. A pathology characterized by impaired color perception, although vision may be normal. Most often diagnosed in men.

People suffering from blindness have general signs similar condition. However, everyone reacts differently to existing symptoms. If a person has never seen, he will not have many opportunities to adapt to a more or less normal existence. And those people whose vision disappeared not gradually, but suddenly, face a lot of problems.

Depending on the cause of blindness, signs may appear in the form of:

  • discomfort in the eyes;
  • tension;
  • pain discomfort;
  • foreign body sensations;
  • discharge.

During rest, a person may not have any obvious manifestations of pathology. From the outside, at such a moment it is impossible to understand that he has visual deviations.

Signs of blindness are detected when the need for movement arises. With the complete loss of visual functions, the reaction to sound increases, which helps to better navigate, while the person looks in the direction from which the sound comes.

When the cornea is infected, it turns white. The colored part of the eye may be completely covered by an opaque membrane. A change in the color of the pupil is accompanied by cataracts.

Features of diagnosis and prevention

To understand how severe the pathology is, the doctor uses a special scale with which he conducts testing. Perimetry and campimetry are methods by which the boundaries of the visual fields are examined.

If the ophthalmologist suspects that the patient has problems with color perception, then Rabkin tables are used. Impairment will be indicated by the inability to distinguish certain symbols. Color blindness is often diagnosed using an anomaloscope.

According to most experts, almost 80% of patients who experienced vision loss could avoid this condition.

To do this, you need to take appropriate measures in time, and also not ignore the tips that will help your eyes stay healthy:

  1. Injury can be prevented by following safety guidelines.
  2. a lack of useful substances eliminated by a balanced diet.
  3. Regular examination will allow for early stage identify changes.

To prevent the development of diabetic retinopathy, you should:

  • control sugar levels;
  • avoid accumulation extra pounds;
  • study physical exercise;
  • put an end to nicotine addiction once and for all;
  • eat foods containing simple carbohydrates;
  • refrain from breaking your diet.

When a person knows that he has a disease in which there is a high probability of losing his vision, he should constantly come for examination to an ophthalmologist. Thanks to this attitude towards health, effective therapeutic methods will be applied at the stage when the slightest symptoms of decreased visual function appear. Moreover, you should not delay seeking help if negative changes were identified on your own.

With an incurable pathology, patients will have to reconsider their habits. They can carry out everyday activities with the help of special devices and some effective methods.

Blindness occurs when the visual ability of the optical system is affected. This disease is characterized by either a significant decrease in visual function or its complete loss.

This reduces both peripheral and central vision. There are several types of blindness:

  • Total, or absolute, blindness.
  • Practical blindness.

In complete blindness, vision is absent on both sides. In cases of practical blindness, light perception or slight color perception may be preserved.

Causes of blindness

Usually a person is afraid of remaining blind, so this condition gives rise to many questions. For example, is it possible to go blind while sleeping? Doctors have a unanimous opinion regarding the occurrence of blindness: healthy person blindness cannot develop suddenly. Most often, this pathology is a consequence of various diseases:

  • Glaucoma;
  • Anchocerciasis;
  • Cataract;
  • Trachoma;
  • Degeneration of the optic spot;
  • Diabetic retinopathy;
  • Injury;
  • Xerophthalmia, keratomalacia.

There are some types of blindness that do not involve a complete lack of vision.

These include, for example, color blindness. In this case, the patient is unable to distinguish some colors. This disease occurs more often in men (about 8%), but can also be diagnosed in women (less than 1%). Despite the impairment of color vision, vision in such patients remains normal.

Night blindness is accompanied by a significant decrease in visual function in twilight lighting conditions. This condition is often genetic in nature, but can also develop as a result of certain diseases. With such visual impairment, the patient sees well during daylight hours, but in the evening and at night he practically cannot distinguish objects.

With so-called snow blindness, visual function deteriorates significantly under conditions of powerful ultraviolet radiation. Quite often, this pathology resolves due to the proliferation of tissue on the surface of the cornea. It is important to note that snow blindness never results in permanent loss of visual function. Typically, patients after high-power ultraviolet irradiation can perceive at least the outlines of objects, bright light, movement of people, etc.

Blindness is either temporary or permanent in nature. To assess the degree of vision loss, it is necessary to determine the boundaries of the visual field, as well as visual acuity for each eye separately. Sometimes vision disappears suddenly, but in other cases there is a gradual decline until complete absence. To determine the degree of visual impairment, you should definitely visit an ophthalmologist and undergo an examination. Fortunately, not all types of blindness are irreversible, so it is worth starting treatment on time and hoping for a successful outcome.

In this case, vision is usually not restored in case of hemorrhage in the brain substance or damage to the fibers of the optic nerve.

Diagnostics

A person is considered blind if he lacks visual function on both sides. In this case, there may be light perception and residual vision (from 0.01 to 0.05 diopters). In this case, you can choose corrective glasses for the better-seeing eye.
A blind person cannot perceive the shape, color, size, location of objects; such patients are poorly oriented in space, as they are not able to assess distance, direction of movement and other characteristics. All this leads to a decrease in sensory perception of the surrounding world. Simultaneously with the fading of visual function, in this category of patients sound perception is exacerbated. Such people are much easier to navigate environment by subtle sound signals. Due to blindness, the formation of movements slows down. Some blind people experience deviations in the volitional and emotional spheres. Over time, the patient gets used to the new life, and blindness ceases to be perceived as painful. Instead of the visual analyzer, a person uses other ways of understanding the world around him (auditory, skin-sensory, motor and other types of perception). This helps stabilize mental processes and restore voluntary attention, generalized perception, logical memory and abstract thinking. These factors help even blind people to perceive reality correctly. When forming imaginative thinking patients are helped by ideas that have been retained in memory from the time of normal vision.

Total blindness is usually caused by damage to the optic nerve fibers, stroke, or other irreversible conditions. However, despite treatment, visual function, as a rule, cannot be restored. To improve the quality of life of blind patients, you can use various devices that are being implemented in daily life. These include books or manuals in Braille, special computer programs, and some devices.

With the sudden development of blindness, a person always experiences serious emotional shock. In addition to neuroses, such patients often experience depression, so not only ophthalmologists, but also psychologists or psychotherapists should treat this category of patients.

In modern ophthalmological practice, doctors are intensively looking for ways to eliminate acquired color blindness. They are mainly aimed at eliminating the causes of the disease. Sometimes vision is restored after stopping the drug that led to such consequences.

Prevention

Often, with proper treatment and timely detection of diseases, blindness can be avoided. For example, if you follow basic rules safety, the risk of developing traumatic blindness can be significantly reduced. In case of essential visual impairment, special attention should be paid to the diet. In the case of glaucoma, it is very important to monitor the level of intraocular pressure, as this will help prevent atrophy of the optic nerve fibers.

Patients with metabolic disorders need to monitor their weight and blood sugar concentration. It would also be a good idea to refuse bad habits. This will help prevent blindness associated with diabetic retinopathy.

Due to the fact that blindness often occurs as a result of various ophthalmological diseases, it is important to regularly visit an ophthalmologist and undergo a minimal examination. At the same time, it is worth choosing a clinic that employs experienced and caring specialists who are able to identify signs of the disease in the early stages and provide comprehensive treatment.

There are many reasons that cause vision loss. They are divided into hereditary (congenital form) and acquired.

Photo 1. Girl with blindness. The eye cornea has a characteristic whitish-bluish tint.

Most often, various diseases lead to a sharp decrease or complete loss of the ability to see - ophthalmological, endocrine, infectious.

In 47-50% of cases, vision loss occurs due to the following diseases eye:

  • cataracts;
  • glaucoma;
  • myopia high degree;
  • trachoma;
  • corneal leukomas;
  • xerophthalmia.

Important! In elderly people, decreased vision, up to its loss, occurs due to general diseases(hypertension) and dystrophic changes in the retina.

Injuries. What is crust and snow blindness?

Traumatic injuries to the eyes and head - a common cause of loss of visual function at a young age.

Blinding due to injuries is often monocular in nature, when one eye does not see. Damage to the cerebral cortex in the visual area causes cortical form of pathology.

A special form of the disease is snow form of the disease. Loss of visual function in this case occurs due to a burn to the cornea from sun rays reflected by snow crystals.

Genetic defects

Congenital forms of pathology develop due to genetic mutations. The causes of vision loss are optic aplasia or albinism which are inherited.

Children who were exposed to negative factors during intrauterine development have a high risk of visual abnormalities. Thus, genetic “breakdowns” during the formation of visual organs in the fetus lead to influenza viruses, rubella, mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Attention! Those at risk for congenital visual impairment are: premature babies.

Other reasons

Sometimes blindness provokes use of certain chemicals. Reception methyl alcohol even in small volumes causes powerful intoxication of the entire body and death of the optic nerve.

Other causes of vision loss include intentional actions. Blinding in similar cases occurs consciously, with the desire to cause irreparable harm to human health. Particularly dangerous are penetrating wounds to the eye area and acid burns.

Photo 2. Consequences of an acid burn to the cornea. This can cause blindness in many cases.

Types of disease

To determine the severity of pathology, many scales have been developed. Special attention deserves a division of pathology into types:

  • Absolute. Visual function is completely absent, the pupils do not react to light.
  • Practical. Visual abilities partially preserved, a person is able to distinguish light from darkness. But practical benefit such vision does not carry.

Additionally, there are several specific types of pathology:

  • Scotoma- an anomaly in which the field of vision is partially lost.
  • Colorblindness- inability to perceive color, although visual acuity is preserved.
  • Night blindness- inability to perceive objects in twilight and darkness.

Reference. In ophthalmology there is the concept of selective blindness. This condition is characterized by the inability to distinguish certain signs - shape of an object, shades of color.

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Classification: pathology in one and both eyes

By International classification diseases There are several types of visual disorders:

  • Blindness on both eyes. Develops due to genetic predisposition, congenital diseases.
  • Blindness in one eye with reduced visual acuity in the other. It occurs against the background of long-term myopia, cataracts, amblyopia, and glaucoma.
  • Decrease in visual acuity in both eyes. The reasons lie in diabetic retinopathy, initial stages cataracts, age-related changes.
  • Loss of vision in both eyes for unspecified reasons.
  • Blindness on one eye. Causes: atrial fibrillation, head injuries (especially in the occipital region), heart defects.
  • Decreased visual acuity in one eye. Occurs with retinal detachment, strabismus, mechanical or chemical damage, or concussion.
  • Loss of vision in one eye (unspecified).
  • Loss of vision (unspecified).

Diagnostics

Diagnosis is carried out through a series of studies. With their help, the severity of the disorder is determined.

A mandatory procedure is visometry and ophthalmoscopy, during which the fundus of the eye is examined.

Sometimes prescribed electroretinography- a study during which the performance of the visual analyzer is assessed.

If scotoma is suspected, perimetry- a method that allows you to establish the boundaries of the field of view and their loss.

Pathologists identify the color form using Ishihara tests and Rabkin tables.

Therapeutic measures

Therapy directly depends on the root cause blindness. If the anomaly is congenital or due to damage to the optic nerve, restoration of vision is not possible. It is also impossible to compensate for blindness in people who have had a stroke.

Other forms of impairment are classified as reversible. Vision lost due to cataracts and glaucoma can be restored after the underlying disease is cured. If a decrease in visual function occurs due to the onset of retinal detachment, it helps laser or surgical treatment.

Blindness caused by cerebral vasospasm is successfully corrected drug therapy. It contains antispasmodics and vasodilators. Vision loss after traumatic brain injury is treated with neurosurgical intervention.

Important! Effective treatment The color form of the pathology does not yet exist. Only partial correction is possible visual perception using lenses or glasses.

Prevention

Taking basic preventative measures can prevent up to 80% of cases of the disease.

So, compliance with safety regulations for eye protection at work and at home helps prevent vision loss due to injury.

But the most effective measure is early diagnosis of cataracts and myopia, that cause vision loss in 50% of cases. It is equally important to regularly monitor your blood glucose levels and weight, and also adhere to healthy image life. All this allows you to maintain optimal functioning of the visual system.

How to live if you are blind

Loss of vision, especially sudden - serious shock for a person. Blindness causes emotional problems and makes social adjustment difficult. But thanks to public support, people who have lost their sight have there is a chance for active life and overcoming isolation.

Reference . In every region, localityThere are organizations (communities) helping the blind. The goals of their activities are aimed at targeted support for the blind, their training, employment and involvement in cultural leisure.

Organization of the environment plays an important role in the adaptation of the blind. Blind people can navigate outdoors and indoors through a guide dog and a white cane. Traffic lights with sound signals, barriers on sidewalks, and road signs with embossing.

Photo 3. A blind man uses a guide dog and a special white cane to navigate the city.

A major breakthrough in improving the quality of life of the blind was creation of computer programs and devices based on speech technologies. Thanks to this, the blind and visually impaired have the opportunity to listen to books and control a computer using their voice.

Useful video

Watch a video excerpt from the program “Live Healthy,” which talks about the reasons for the development of blindness in one eye.

Prevention is easier than cure

Blindness is one of the most terrible diagnoses. Loss of vision, whether complete or partial, is life-changing.

The causes of the disease are varied- from banal injuries to bad heredity.

Modern advances in medicine make it possible to successfully correct visual impairments, but prevention is of paramount importance(health monitoring, early diagnosis and treatment of somatic diseases). A the slightest violation visual function is a reason to consult a doctor.