Causes of Blindness Free Essay Example, 2000 words

There are many causes of blindness, but severe distinguishing features have been identified as leading factors that contribute to an individual either being born blind or losing their vision later in life. The most commonly attributed factor leading to blindness are diabetes, macular degeneration, traumatic injuries to the eyes, infection, glaucoma, and a lack of access to proper glasses or correction vision equipment. There are some other factors that lead to blindness, although they are much less common in occurrence. These include vitamin A deficiency, retinopathy of prematurity, vascular disease that affects the retina or optic nerve of the eye including having a stroke, ocular inflammatory disease, retinitis pigmentosa, primary or secondary malignancies of the eye, congenital abnormalities, hereditary diseases of the eye, and some type of chemical poisoning from toxic agents, including methanol. When an individual suffers temporary blindness, it is important to note that the causes are often different from those involved in individuals that develop permanent blindness (Gyles, 2002). In diagnosing this particular disability, an examination of all parts of the eye will usually be conducted by an ophthalmologist to determine the extent of the blindness. Globally, individuals who are blind or are visually impaired are defined as such by they're unable to see properly, or who experience great difficulty when attempting to see. Individuals who tend to lose their vision in a rapid fashion, as opposed to over a number of years, are typically more symptomatic in terms of their vision loss. It is important to remember that the actual treatment of blindness is directly related to the cause of the disability itself, which makes it critical for an individual to work with his or her doctor to determine what exactly happened to cause the vision loss in order to receive the most direct and effective and effective treatment options (Prescott, 2011). We will write a custom essay sample on Causes of Blindness or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now