Vision Impairment and Blindness: Causes, Low Vision and Living With Sight Loss

Vision impairment is the loss of vision. It includes:

• blindness — losing all or most of your sight;
• low vision — having some sight, but losing enough that everyday activities such as reading, shopping, cooking, writing and watching TV are hard. Low vision cannot be fixed with glasses, contact lenses, medicine or surgery.

Causes

Ageing does not cause vision loss on its own, but many diseases more common in older adults do. The leading causes of low vision and blindness in the United States are age-related eye diseases:

• macular degeneration;
• cataracts;
• glaucoma.

Other eye disorders, eye injuries and birth defects can also cause vision loss.

Warning signs and diagnosis

Vision impairment is diagnosed with a dilated eye exam. Early warning signs include not being able to see well enough to:

• do everyday tasks such as reading and driving;
• recognise people's faces;
• tell colours apart;
• see a television or computer screen clearly.

You can have these problems even while wearing glasses or contacts.

Types of low vision

Which type you have depends on its cause:

• central vision loss — not seeing things in the centre of your vision;
• peripheral (side) vision loss — not seeing things out of the corners of your eyes;
• night blindness — not seeing in low light;
• blurry or hazy vision.

Treatment and rehabilitation

Low vision is permanent. Glasses, medicine and surgery cannot cure it, but they can sometimes improve sight, make everyday activities easier, or preserve the vision you have. Options depend on the cause, so ask your eye doctor.

A doctor may recommend vision aids or vision rehabilitation, which teaches you to live with vision loss. It may include:

• learning to use magnifiers or screen readers;
• arranging your home so you can move around more easily;
• employment and job training;
• assistive devices such as lighting and reading stands.

Your provider may also point you to other help, such as transport and household services.

Making the most of remaining sight

The sooner vision loss or eye disease is found and treated, the better your chance of keeping the sight you have. Lost vision cannot be restored, but it can be managed — often by reorganising daily life and learning new ways of doing things.

Protecting your vision

• Have regular comprehensive eye exams by an eye care professional.
• Wear sunglasses and protective eyewear.
• Lower your risk of conditions that cause vision problems: be physically active, keep a healthy weight, don't smoke (or quit), and eat a healthy diet.

Sources

• "Vision Impairment and Blindness," MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, drawing on the National Eye Institute (NIH). https://medlineplus.gov/visionimpairmentandblindness.html
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.