All You Need To Know About Blindness

Protecting your eyes is very important, right from your childhood to adulthood. Retention of vision and preventing early blindness is vital for a good quality of life. 

People lose their vision mainly due to injuries, infections and diseases.

The Blind Truth

Total number of blind people in the world - 324 million

Total number of blind people in India - 8.3 million

60 percent of the blind people are women while 84 percent are over 50 years of age.

What Causes Blindness?

- Uncorrected refractive error

- Age-related macular degeneration

- Glaucoma

- Diabetic retinopathy

- Corneal scars

- Injury, infections, retinal and optic nerve diseases

- Accidents from firecrackers, and injuries from cricket balls, stone breaking, etc., and working at hazardous jobs without proper eye protection.

-  Diseases like uncontrolled blood sugar and blood pressure

- Smoking

- Excessive exposure to sunlight

- Nutritional deficiencies

- Lack of quality eye care

Simple Symptoms Can Indicate Serious Problems

Symptoms like redness, watering, itching, irritation, blurring of vision, gritty sensation, burning sensation, floaters, coloured halo, etc., must not be ignored as these can be signs of serious eye problems.

If you have any of these symptoms, you need to immediately go to an Ophthalmologist and get your eyes properly checked.

Blurred or defective vision is one of the most significant symptoms of eye disease and indicates a gradual or sudden onset of the disease.

Other Cause of Eye Problems

Pollutants in the air, cause allergic reactions in the eyes that lead to redness, pain, watering, blurring of vision, irritation and a burning sensation.

Staring directly at the sun also causes a reaction. Wear protective sunglasses to protect your eyes from harsh rays of the sun and from dust particles. 

It’s important to understand that eye-care at an early stage in life, and also during an injury or disease, is crucial. Swift action saves vision.