Vision Impairment and Blindness

Summary

If you have low vision, eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery may not help. Activities like reading, shopping, cooking, writing, and watching TV may be hard to do. The leading causes of low vision and blindness in the United States are age-related eye diseases: macular degeneration, cataract and glaucoma. Other eye disorders, eye injuries, and birth defects can also cause vision loss.

Whatever the cause, lost vision cannot be restored. It can, however, be managed. A loss of vision means that you may have to reorganize your life and learn new ways of doing things. If you have some vision, visual aids such as special glasses and large print books can make life easier. There are also devices to help those with no vision, like text-reading software and braille books.

The sooner vision loss or eye disease is found and treated, the greater your chances of keeping your remaining vision. You should have regular comprehensive eye exams by an eye care professional.

NIH: National Eye Institute

National Eye Institute

Statistics and Research

• 10 Tips to Reduce Your Chance of Losing Vision from the Most Common Cause of Blindness American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Eye Health Data and Statistics National Eye Institute

Related Issues

• Abnormal Head Position American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Talking with Your Eye Doctor National Eye Institute

Children

• About the Eye National Eye Institute
• Cortical Visual Impairment American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Delayed Visual Maturation American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Keep an Eye on Your Child’s Vision Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Kids’ Quest: Vision Impairment Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Your Child’s Vision Nemours Foundation
• Your Eyes Nemours Foundation

Older Adults

• Aging and Your Eyes National Institute on Aging
• Your Aging Eyes: How You See as Time Goes By National Institutes of Health

Genetics

• Alström syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Autosomal dominant congenital stationary night blindness: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Autosomal recessive congenital stationary night blindness: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Boucher-Neuhäuser syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Bradyopsia: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Choroideremia: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Fundus albipunctatus: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Manitoba oculotrichoanal syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Mucolipidosis type IV: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Ophthalmo-acromelic syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Osteoporosis-pseudoglioma syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• RAB18 deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• SOX2 anophthalmia syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• Wagner syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
• X-linked congenital stationary night blindness: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine

Find an Expert

• American Foundation for the Blind American Foundation for the Blind
• Find an Ophthalmologist American Academy of Ophthalmology
• Finding an Eye Doctor National Eye Institute
• National Eye Institute National Eye Institute

Living With

• Assistive Devices: MedlinePlus Health Topic National Library of Medicine
• Living with Low Vision American Occupational Therapy Association
• Low Vision Rehabilitation Teams and Services American Academy of Ophthalmology
• What Is Low Vision? American Foundation for the Blind

Patient Handouts

• Blindness and vision loss Medical Encyclopedia
• Home vision tests Medical Encyclopedia
• Living with vision loss Medical Encyclopedia
• Vision – night blindness Medical Encyclopedia
• Vision problems Medical Encyclopedia

Games

• Braille Bug: Games American Foundation for the Blind

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Blindness National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vision Disorders National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vision, Low National Institutes of Health

Diagnosis and Tests

• Dilating Eye Drops American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Eye Exam and Vision Testing Basics American Academy of Ophthalmology

Symptoms

• Eye Symptoms American Academy of Ophthalmology

Reference Desk

• How the Eyes Work National Eye Institute

Start Here

• Low Vision National Eye Institute

Encyclopedia

• Ophthalmoscopy Medical Encyclopedia
• Seeing Medical Encyclopedia
• Standard eye exam Medical Encyclopedia
• Uveitis Medical Encyclopedia
• Visual acuity test Medical Encyclopedia
• Visual field Medical Encyclopedia

Journal Articles

• Vision disorders

Teenagers

• Visual Impairment Nemours Foundation