Senses That Speak

What Causes Blindness:

Cataracts: Cataracts form and block the passage of light through the eye. Some people are born with them, but it gets worse as you get older. They are not painful but it makes your sight blurry, dimmed or your vision can be doubled. Not all cataracts require surgery. But the ones that are really big and cause major sight problems need surgery. What they do is remove your lens.
Glaucoma: One in every seven or eight cases of blindness is due to Glaucoma. This is when the transparent fluid in the front part of the eye does not drain correctly, and more pressure than normal is built up in the eye. When the pressure is not under control the fragile structure of the eye is increasingly damaged, resulting in blurred vision, a narrowed field of sight and eventually total blindness. There is a lot of pain when eye pressure rises quickly because of blocked drainage canals. In the more common type there is NO pain and vision gets worse quickly. Many people are helped very well by medication, but sometimes surgery is necessary. Early detection is necessary.
Diabetic retinopathy: Only diabetics can have diabetic retinopathy. The increased lifespan of diabetics has increased the amount of people with this disorder. The tiny blood vessels of the diabetic’s retina will change and it causes blindness. Unusual blood vessels are formed, some even break open and this can cause the retina to break loose from the back of the eye. To reattach or close up the blood vessels, laser treatment is needed. But some diabetics do no experience loss of sight.
Macular Degeneration: The retina is like the film in a camera. Macular Degeneration is when the retina has a breakdown, or degeneration. This will happen more often to people older in age. Peripheral vision usually remains good. Magnifiers or laser treatment can help. Laser treatment helps because it closes up the abnormal blood vessels that grow under the retina, or it repairs the macula’s weak spots by removing worn out and allowing new tissue to grow.
Retinitis Pigmentosa: This disorder is sometimes called a "night blindness". What happens is that the retina and the choroid degenerate. This causes unusual development in the exess pigment. Usually this happens at about age ten or twelve the child begins to experience difficulty in seeing at night and in poorly lighted areas. Their visual field will start to narrow, this sometimes called "tunnel vision". The vision loss happens fast, most people with this disorder are legally blind by young adulthood. For this disorder there is no known treatment.