There are many things which cause blindness. Sometimes babies are born blind, but most blind people become blind later on. Glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy are the three most common causes of blindness today. Many older persons lose their vision from macular degeneration. Some people become blind through accidents.

Injuries to the eye, birth defects, malnutrition, infections, chemical burns, congenital disorders and complications of eye surgery.

The main causes of blindness include cataract, glaucoma, trachoma, onchocerciasis (river blindness), childhood blindness, diabetic retinopathy, trauma and age-related macular degeneration. Of the 37 million people who are blind worldwide, cataract accounts for approximately half of all cases. Glaucoma is ranked as the second main cause of blindness, but not in the Pacific region. Diabetic retinopathy is particularly prevalent in the Pacific region.

Blindness, to most people, means a complete loss of sight. As they grow older, some people with RP do become blind in this sense. However, many will retain a small amount of vision such as light perception. A majority of people with RP are legally blind by the age of 40. People who are legally blind usually maintain a good deal of functional vision supplemented by adaptive technology.

They can. Over time, if they’re allowed to become opaque enough, they block so much light that you are unable to see at all. This rarely occurs in the US anymore, but is a problem globally.

Night blindness is more appropriately called as “impaired dark adaptation.” People with night blindness see poorly in the darkness but see normally when adequate amounts of light are present. The condition does not actually involve true blindness, even at night.

Color blindness, more accurately called color deficiency, is a term used for a deficiency in recognizing certain colors. Most color perception defects are for red or green or both. Another form of color blindness; yellow-blue is the second most common form, but it is rare and could be a result of some optic nerve disease. Complete color deficiency, where all colors are seen as varying shades of black and white is almost unknown.

Deaf-blindness is defined as concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness.

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Regular diagnostic examinations by an ophthalmologist are the key to preventing loss of vision due to glaucoma. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors, specialists in eye care and trained to examine and treat eye diseases. Although there is no way to reverse damage, if glaucoma is diagnosed and treated early, blindness almost always is preventable.

Under SSI/SSP Program rules blindness means that you are statutorily blind. Statutorily blind means you have central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in your best eye with the use of corrective lens. This definition also applies to children. Your doctor can tell you if you are statutorily blind. In order to meet eligibility based on blindness, you may submit proof from a doctor or other medical person accepted by SSA, or SSA can request the proof from your doctor with your permission.

Corneal blindness is a visual impairment that is caused when the cornea becomes clouded, scarred, or misshapen. This condition may be the result of injury, infection or disease.

The treatments available for preventing blindness are among the most successful and cost-effective of all health interventions. Particularly in the case of uncorrected refractive error – good vision is just an eye exam and a pair of glasses away.