Legal blindness in the USA defines as a medical diagnosis where the central visual acuity measures at 20/200 or less even with correction. A person may have the label of legal blindness but still have usable vision. Presently the National Federation of the Blind states about 1.3 million people has the condition. Heightened awareness of the condition happens in January with National Braille Literacy Month. The group with the highest level of legal blindness has been senior citizens.
Leading causes
Age-related conditions if left untreated can result in legal blindness. The conditions of glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy cause most of the issues with eyes and over time can lead to blindness.
Glaucoma defines as a condition where the intraocular pressure of the eye becomes out of balance. The plasma-like aqueous humor produced by the ciliary epithelium exceeds what becomes drained by the trabecula meshwork. Pressure builds in the eye and over time damages the optic nerve which is the primary source of visual sensory information.
Macular degeneration defines as a condition where the middle portion of the retina on the back of the eye becomes damaged. The retina functions as a screen that relays visual sensory information to the optic nerve. As a result, a black dot in the center of a person’s vision appears blocking all-optical data in that area.
Cataracts define as a clouding of the transparent lens which causes blurred vision. It remains the most common cause of vision loss.
Diabetic retinopathy induces damage to the blood vessels in the retina. The condition can cause blood flow to stop, tiny blood vessels to swell or even grow new blood vessels. All three choices can lead to blindness.
Treatments
Vision loss can become stalled with appropriate treatment. Glaucoma has two laser eye surgery treatments depending on the type: trabeculoplasty and iridotomy. It takes an incredibly skilled eye surgeon to make the appropriate incisions to get the aqueous humor to drain at a proper rate. Houston Lasik has that level of expertise from staff to the doctors. Early treatment of glaucoma helps prevent blindness. Macular degeneration has been especially challenging to treat. Many paths have been explored and continued to be explored, but for some patients, laser eye surgery may be an option. It takes a careful examination of a patient’s medical history and determination of the status of the macular degeneration to see if LASIK or other laser eye surgery could help. Cataract surgery can become corrected by an intraocular lens implant. Often after implant, a LASIK surgery can concentrate light on the retina correctly restoring much of the vision. Diabetic retinopathy does respond to laser treatment. Laser surgery can remove the abnormal blood vessels.
Recommendations
Houston Lasik recommends regular eye exams, so conditions can be treated early when many more options exist. New technology rolls in every year as well as new techniques. What can be done for a condition depends on the knowledge of the doctor who knows the parameters to work under.
Houston Lasik leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Houston Lasik, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478.
VIA
http://www.afb.org/info/blindness-statistics/key-definitions-of-statistical-terms/25
https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/legally-blind-meaning
https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/basics/ced/index.html
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