Blindness is the inability to see. The leading causes of chronic blindness include cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacities, diabetic retinopathy, trachoma, and eye conditions in children (e.g. caused by vitamin A deficiency). Age-related blindness is increasing throughout the world, as is blindness due to uncontrolled diabetes.

What Causes Blindness?

Vision problems can develop before a baby is born. Sometimes, parts of the eyes don't form the way they should. A kid's eyes might look fine, but the brain has trouble processing the information they send. The optic nerve sends pictures to the brain, so if the nerve doesn't form correctly, the baby's brain won't receive the messages needed for sight. Blindness can be genetic or inherited, which means that this problem gets passed down to a kid from parents through genes.

Blindness has many causes. In the United States, the leading causes are diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and accidents (such as chemical burns or injuries from bungie cords, fishing hooks, fireworks, racket balls, and similar objects).Worldwide, the leading causes of blindness are cataracts, onchocerciasis (river blindness), trachoma, leprosy, and vitamin A deficiency.

Can it be prevented?

Having an eye test at least every two years can help to detect problems that may need treatment before any permanent damage has been done.Some conditions, such as glaucoma and cataracts, can be treated to help preserve vision.It's important to wear protective eyewear in situations where accidental eye damage may occur, for example, at work, when playing sport or doing DIY.

Symptoms:

Symptoms vary from person to person, but may include: Trouble seeing colors and the brightness of colors in the usual way.Inability to tell the difference between shades of the same or similar colors. Often, the symptoms may be so mild that some persons do not know they are color blind. A parent may notice signs of color blindness when a child is learning his or her colors.

Conditions degenerate further, as an armed clique gains control over food deliveries, subjugating their fellow internees and exposing them to rape and deprivation. Faced with starvation, internees do battle and burn down the asylum, only to find that the army has abandoned the asylum, after which the protagonists join the throngs of nearly helpless blind people outside who wander the devastated city and fight one another to survive.

Currently, there is no cure for glaucoma, but treatment can control the progression of the disease. The primary goal of treatment is to prevent further damage to the eye by lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) and to ultimately prevent blindness. Treatment of glaucoma may include medications, surgery, or a combination of medication and surgery.