What Is Visual Impairment?
Many people have some type of visual problem at some point in their lives. Some can no longer see objects far away. Others have problems reading small print. These types of conditions are often easily treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses.
But when one or more parts of the eye or brain that are needed to process images become diseased or damaged, severe or total loss of vision can occur. In these cases, vision can’t be fully restored with medical treatment, surgery, or corrective lenses like glasses or contacts.
What Causes Visual Impairment?
People rarely lose their eyesight during their teen years. Some babies have congenital blindness, which means they are visually impaired at birth. Congenital blindness can be caused by a number of things
Conditions that may cause vision loss after birth include:
- Amblyopia (pronounced: am-blee-OH-pee-uh) is reduced vision in an eye caused by lack of use of that eye in early childhood. Some conditions cause a child’s eyes to send different messages to the brain
- Cataracts are cloudy areas in part or all of the lens of the eye. In people without cataracts, the lens is crystal clear and allows light to pass through and focus on the retina.
- Diabetic retinopathy (pronounced: reh-ton-AH-pa-thee) occurs when the tiny blood vessels in the retina are damaged due to diabetes.
- Glaucoma is an increase in pressure inside the eye. The increased pressure impairs vision by damaging the optic nerve.
- Macular (pronounced: MAH-kyoo-lur) degeneration is a gradual and progressive deterioration of the macula, the most sensitive region of the retina. The condition leads to progressive loss of central vision (the ability to see fine details directly in front).
- Trachoma (pronounced: truh-KO-muh) occurs when a very contagious microorganism called Chlamydia trachomatis causes inflammation in the eye.
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