If you are completely blind, you cannot see any light or shape. Among people with eye diseases, only about 15% can see nothing at all. If you are legally blind, you can still see, but not so clearly. Like the term “legal blindness,” “visual impairment” is not a functional definition that tells us a lot about what a person can and cannot see. It is more of a classification system than a definition. Cataracts cause clouding of the eye lenses. It is the leading cause of blindness in the world. The conditions of right blindness and complete blindness vary widely. Many eye diseases can lead to legal blindness.
The most common causes of blindness are:10 This term refers to someone who cannot see at a certain level. Most health care institutions and government agencies agree that if your best eye vision is 20/200 with correction, then you are legally blind. In other words, a person who is legally blind can see an object from a distance of 20 feet that a person with normal vision could see from 200 feet away. Normal visibility is 20/20. This means that you can clearly see an object from 20 feet away. If you are legally blind, your vision is 20/200 or less in your best eye or your field of vision is less than 20 degrees. That is, if an object is 200 feet away, you must stand 20 feet away from it to see it clearly. But a person with normal vision can stand at 200 feet and see this object perfectly. If you have a Snellen rating above 20/70, with and without contact lenses or glasses, you have relatively good vision and are not legally blind or even legally visually impaired. “Legal blindness” is a definition used by the U.S. government to determine eligibility for job training, rehabilitation, education, disability benefits, equipment for the visually impaired, and tax exemption programs. It`s not a functional definition of low vision and doesn`t tell us much about what a person can and can`t see.
A positive number (indicated by a “+” sign) refers to hyperopia or hyperopia. A negative number (indicated by a “-” sign) refers to myopia or myopia. Just because you can`t see more than one or two feet in front of you with your natural vision doesn`t mean you`re legally blind. If you can use glasses or contact lenses to correct your vision above 20/200, you are not eligible to be marked as blind under the law. To be legally blind, you must have a visual acuity of 20/200. This means that even with glasses or contact lenses, you can only read the first letter at the top of the Snellen diagram, if at all. You can also be legally blind if you can see, but only in a very small window in your eye. Essentially, even if you can see, if you can`t see enough to function regularly, you can probably be considered legally blind. But what does it mean to have poor eyesight? Is it just that your vision is blurry or unclear? Legally, it must be caused by eye disease and reduce your visual acuity to at least 20/70. This means that to see what most people can see from 70 feet away, you need to be as close as 20 feet. In other words, you can hardly read the 3rd row from the top of Snellen`s eyeboard (or the chart you read at the ophthalmologist with all the letters).
If a person with 20/200 vision is legally blind, their field of vision is less than 20 degrees. On an eye prescription, 0.00 represents vision that does not require correction. The numbers indicate the severity of your myopia or farsightedness. The further away from zero (+ or -), the worse the vision. Treatments for legal blindness vary depending on the cause and stage of the disease. Age-related eye conditions are usually prescription medications or eye procedures aimed at delaying or preventing vision from getting worse. Total blindness is the complete absence of light perception and shape perception and is recorded as “NLP”, an abbreviation for “no light perception”. “Normal” vision is 20/20. A person with 20/20 vision can stand 200 feet away from an eye map and see it as clearly as a legally blind person sees it 20 feet. AMD is a condition that affects the macular region of the retina. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in adults over the age of 65.
Note that the blind person within the meaning of the law is not completely blind. While legally blind people can still technically see, completely blind people will not be able to perceive light or see anything. If you feel that your eyesight – even with a correction – prevents you from driving or working safely, you should consult an ophthalmologist to determine if you are legally blind. People often ask about the difference between being blind and being “legally blind.” Because “blindness” can mean many different things, blindness under the law is the threshold at which a person is considered visually impaired for legal purposes, such as insurance purposes, to receive certain benefits, or to be accepted into various programs. Few people today are completely blind. In fact, 85% of all people with eye diseases have some kind of vision; About 15% are completely blind. Being considered legally blind means you can`t drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. The terms may also be used by health insurers to determine benefits and as part of the vision screening tests required by state departments of motor vehicles (DMV) when determining driver`s license eligibility. For safety reasons, people who are legally blind or visually impaired are generally not entitled to a driver`s licence. Being legally blind affects your eyesight, but that doesn`t have to stop you from living a fulfilling life.
Like visual impairment, there are many different definitions of visual impairment. “Visual impairment” is a broad term that describes a wide range of visual functions, from visual impairment to complete blindness. Another way of looking at it: if someone with 20/20 vision is standing next to a legally blind person, the legally blind person should approach up to 20 feet to see an object from 200 feet away, as well as the person with normal vision. People who are legally blind may still be able to see – the problem is that the picture is not very clear. They can still see colors, shapes, lights, and shadows, but they will have trouble seeing things from afar and will need help driving. Striem-Amit E, Gen M, Amedi A. “Visual acuity of congenital blind persons by visual sensory substitution for auditory. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33136.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033136 Most of our funds come from people like you. During 2020, we studied the impact of COVID-19 on people who are blind or partially sighted and advocated for meaningful responses to the pandemic. This work is only possible thanks to donations from people like you. If you appreciate the information you found on our website, make a gift today! An estimated 1.1 million Americans are legally blind.
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