If someone is blind does that mean they only see black or what? I know they can't see...??
Question: I guess I don't get it.
Answers: What blind people see
Myopia
Myopia, or short-sightedness, makes things that are far away look blurry. In really bad cases, even things that are close to you can be difficult to see properly. Around 5 million people in the UK are short-sighted and of these, about 200,000 have what’s called high-degree myopia. Of all the blind and partially-sighted people in the UK, around 2 per cent have myopia.
Cataracts
When you first have cataracts, things can seem blurred round the edges and it may seem as though your glasses are dirty or scratched. Cataracts happen when the lens in your eye becomes clouded over, and if this cloudiness happens in more than one place in your eye, you may get double vision. Bright light may also make it more difficult to see and as the cataract get worse, its centre becomes more and more yellow, making things look more yellowish.
Over half of people over 65 have cataracts. In most of these people, though, it isn't so serious that they need treatment. About 5.3 per cent of blind and partially-sighted people in the UK have cataracts.
Glaucoma
A lot of people with glaucoma don't know they have it for a long time after they get it. Sometimes that means that they might look for something for quite some time before realising that it's right in front of them. This is because there is a nerve in the eye (called the optic nerve) that takes information about what you see to the brain - a bit like sending the brain an email. In glaucoma this nerve doesn't work very well and means that you can't see properly. If nothing is done to help clear up the glaucoma, it can cause tunnel vision (just like some types of RP - see below). In the end, this sight can be lost too, if the condition isn't treated. Glaucoma affects one in 50 people who are over the age of 40, and causes 10.7 per cent of the cases of blindness and partial sight in the UK.
Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, is actually a lot of different types of eye problems. But they affect people's eyes in much the same way. People with RP often find it difficult to see in dim light or in very bright light. Some types of RP make reading and looking at things close-up difficult. Other types give you tunnel vision (try looking at something and then looking at it through a small hole in a piece of paper - see how much of what you could see is missing!). RP causes 1.9 per cent of the cases of blindness and partial sight in the UK.
Diabetic retinopathy
What someone with diabetic retinopathy sees can depend on how bad it’s got. Often, what they see will be blurry, sometimes with dark splodges (imagine looking through glasses with paint on them). All people with an illness called diabetes risk getting this disease, especially pregnant women who have diabetes. Of all the blind and partially-sighted people in the UK, 3.2 per cent have diabetic retinopathy.
Macular Degeneration
This is a disease that affects older people more than anybody else. Their vision may be blurred, straight lines, such as street-lamps or door-frames, may look wavy. Macular degeneration causes 47.6 per cent of the cases of blindness and partial sight in the UK – more than twice as many as the other five biggest causes put together!
Answers: What blind people see
Myopia
Myopia, or short-sightedness, makes things that are far away look blurry. In really bad cases, even things that are close to you can be difficult to see properly. Around 5 million people in the UK are short-sighted and of these, about 200,000 have what’s called high-degree myopia. Of all the blind and partially-sighted people in the UK, around 2 per cent have myopia.
Cataracts
When you first have cataracts, things can seem blurred round the edges and it may seem as though your glasses are dirty or scratched. Cataracts happen when the lens in your eye becomes clouded over, and if this cloudiness happens in more than one place in your eye, you may get double vision. Bright light may also make it more difficult to see and as the cataract get worse, its centre becomes more and more yellow, making things look more yellowish.
Over half of people over 65 have cataracts. In most of these people, though, it isn't so serious that they need treatment. About 5.3 per cent of blind and partially-sighted people in the UK have cataracts.
Glaucoma
A lot of people with glaucoma don't know they have it for a long time after they get it. Sometimes that means that they might look for something for quite some time before realising that it's right in front of them. This is because there is a nerve in the eye (called the optic nerve) that takes information about what you see to the brain - a bit like sending the brain an email. In glaucoma this nerve doesn't work very well and means that you can't see properly. If nothing is done to help clear up the glaucoma, it can cause tunnel vision (just like some types of RP - see below). In the end, this sight can be lost too, if the condition isn't treated. Glaucoma affects one in 50 people who are over the age of 40, and causes 10.7 per cent of the cases of blindness and partial sight in the UK.
Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, is actually a lot of different types of eye problems. But they affect people's eyes in much the same way. People with RP often find it difficult to see in dim light or in very bright light. Some types of RP make reading and looking at things close-up difficult. Other types give you tunnel vision (try looking at something and then looking at it through a small hole in a piece of paper - see how much of what you could see is missing!). RP causes 1.9 per cent of the cases of blindness and partial sight in the UK.
Diabetic retinopathy
What someone with diabetic retinopathy sees can depend on how bad it’s got. Often, what they see will be blurry, sometimes with dark splodges (imagine looking through glasses with paint on them). All people with an illness called diabetes risk getting this disease, especially pregnant women who have diabetes. Of all the blind and partially-sighted people in the UK, 3.2 per cent have diabetic retinopathy.
Macular Degeneration
This is a disease that affects older people more than anybody else. Their vision may be blurred, straight lines, such as street-lamps or door-frames, may look wavy. Macular degeneration causes 47.6 per cent of the cases of blindness and partial sight in the UK – more than twice as many as the other five biggest causes put together!
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