Doctors call blindness when a person lacks any sensitivity to
light. The technical term for this is " amaurosis ". Blindness
means a serious visual impairment. It is associated with a loss of vision
that cannot be corrected by visual aids or surgery. The medical definition
of blindness is therefore: The eyesight is completely lost. technologywebdesign
Some people are blinds from birth, other lose their sight over the course of
their lives. Some experience blindness in one eye, others in both eyes
(binocular blindness). For example, cortical blindness (cortical
blindness) means that the damage and the cause of the loss of vision lies in
the brain. The eyes themselves can be perfectly healthy and
intact. Psychological blindness, on the other hand, often arises after
severe trauma.
Here, too, the organs of vision are not defective. Sudden blindness
usually only affects one eye and can often be attributed to disorders in the
brain, such as bleeding or vascular occlusion. Certain diseases can also
cause eyesight and blindness. futuretechexpert
Legal / legal
blindness
What blindness means, however, is not the same for German law as it is
for doctors. Jurists take a different definition of blindness: the legal blindness differentiates between different degrees of visual impairment , which can be measured
in percentages. As with other disabilities, lawyers determine the degree
of disability (GdB) individually.
Visual impairment and blindness - the definition! In the legal sense,
people are ...
- ...
visually impaired if they have no more than 30 percent of normal vision
with a visual aid on the better-seeing eye
- ...
significantly visually impaired with less than ten percent of the normal
vision in this eye
- ...
highly visually impaired if they have no more than five percent vision in
this eye.
A person is classified as blind if they have a maximum of two percent of
normal vision in the better-seeing eye and / or their field of vision is
restricted to less than five degrees. Although he can still see minimally
and to a small extent differentiate between light and dark, he is still legally
considered to be blind. In the medical sense he is not because he still
has poor eyesight. techbizcenter
Definition of
blindness according to WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has develope several levels for the
degree of impairment. Depending on the degree of visual impairment, those
affected have entitlements, which social law describes as so-called
compensation for disadvantages. However, German social law only partially
adopts the division of the World Health Authority.
And this legal classification in Germany - what degree of visually impaired or
blind - has consequences for those affected. It decides whether and to
what extent a person:
- Is
entitled to care allowance and allowance for the blind
- Receives
support in the household or
- may
participate in road traffic
Sometimes this legal classification contains some explosive, because
patients do not always agree with the legal assessments.
Statistics on
blindness in Germany: how many are affected?
Figures and data are available for almost all diseases and health
problems. However, there are no statistics on blindness and visual
impairments in Germany. Because blind and visually impaired people do not
count in this country. It is different in countries like Denmark, Italy or
the Netherlands. Projections from some countries have shown that there are
at least 1.2 million visually impaired and blind people living in Germany
alone.
The German Associations for the Blinds and Visually Impaired (DBSV) has
been criticizing the lack of reliable figures for years. It is hardly
possible to provide adequate medical and social care for the blind and visually
impaired. lifebloombeauty
The number of blind people is increasing worldwide, as the WHO has determined. The
DBSV estimates that around 10,000 people in Germany go blind every year in
Germany alone. The reasons lie in the aging of society and poor medical
care in developing countries. There, cataracts, for example, which can
usually be treated very well, are considered to be one of the most common
causes of blindness.
Blindness: how does
the doctor go about diagnosing it?
An ophthalmologist has several ways to diagnose blindness. First,
he checks visual acuity with the help of an eye test. When measuring the
field of view (perimetry), you have to recognize a series of luminous points of
different brightness on a screen. The measurement results show how well
the eye can perceive differences in brightness. The pupillary reaction
test also helps the ophthalmologist make a diagnosis.
The eyeball (front eye) can be examined more closely with the slit lamp
microscope. An ophthalmoscopy brings light into the fundus. The
doctor primarily checks the condition of the vessels, such as the veins and
arteries of the retina, the optic nerve and the point of sharpest vision - the
yellow spot.
If the doctor suspects the cause of the blindness not in the eye but in the
brain, further tests may be necessary. These include, for example,
computed tomography or magnetic resonance tomography ( MRI , magnetic resonance imaging).
Blindness: causes are different
Doctors
know many causes of blindness. Some babies are born blind and see nothing
from birth. Parents can identify blindness in babies with a simple test:
Darken the room and shine the flashlight into your baby's eyes. If both
pupils do not constrict quickly when exposed to light, this is a warning
signal. Always see your pediatrician immediately. Some people, on the
other hand, acquire blindness in the course of their lives, for example through
injuries, accidents or illnesses. Blindness can affect one or both eyes.
Congenital causes of blindness
Every
year up to 200 children are born with congenital blindness, reports the
Würzburg University Hospital. And about five times as many have profound
visual impairment. In addition, there are accidents in which babies and
children lose sight. There are some indications of blindness in infants:
- The baby has gray or
noticeably large pupils, they seem to "tremble"
- Your offspring rub their
eyes more often
- It reacts to a rattle, but
does not reach for it
- It does not look at its
caregivers properly and does not follow movements
- Some babies dig their eyes
with their fingers; the pressure seems to trigger short flashes of
light that the infant finds exciting
The
reasons for this birth blindness are mostly undesirable developments in the
womb or a genetic defect, such as Leber's congenital amaurosis. Parts of
the visual apparatus are then missing or not fully developed.
Rubella infection in pregnancy
Pregnant
women who become infected with the rubella virus can harm your unborn
baby. It develops a congenital glaucoma, in which the pressure in the eye
is increased. If doctors do not discover the eye disease in time, there is
a risk of serious eye damage - in the worst case, your baby may even go blind. The
first signs of glaucoma are restless behavior in your baby: they often bring
their hands to their eyes, scream, are shy of light and their eyes water.
Doctors almost always have to correct congenital glaucoma with
surgery. Glaucomas in older children that develop over time (secondary
glaucoma) can be treated initially with eye drops. The active ingredients
contained in it lower the pressure in the eye.
In premature infants, a retinal disease (retinopathia prematurorum) can also
occur, in which the retina does not develop completely. This can lead to
retinal detachment or blindness in the premature baby.
Acquired blindness
There are also acquired causes that lead to blindness. Some people
only lose their sight in the course of their lives. The most common is blindness
due to illness. But accidents and injuries can also make people
blind. Some examples!
Weak-sightedness
Poor vision in one eye (weak vision, amblyopia) can develop in
childhood. No physical causes can be found for this. Nevertheless,
the brain switches off the visual impressions of the eye for no known
reason. If the weak-sightedness occurs in both eyes, blindness can be the
result.
Age-related macular
degeneration (AMD)
Age-related macular degeneration is
the most common causes of severe visual impairment from the age of
60. From the age of 80, it is the most common cause of blindness. In
AMD, visual cells in the center of the retina (macula = yellow spot), which are
responsible for colored and sharp vision, perish as a result of the aging
process. techsmartinfo
At first, those affected see blurred and blurred, later a dark spot appears in
the center of the field of view. Seeing is only possible at the
edge. Orientation in space and reading and writing become impossible over
time. An estimated 50 percent of cases of blindness can be traced back to
age-related macular degeneration. In addition to age, risk factors for AMD
include smoking, exposure to light (especially UV radiation) and high blood pressure . Genetic predisposition
also plays a role.
Green star (glaucoma)
and blindness
In the case of glaucoma, the intraocular pressure is usually increased,
which in many cases goes unnoticed for a long time. If the blood supply to
the optic nerve is disturbed, it can be damaged. Usually glaucoma first
affects one eye, and later also the second. Many only become aware of the
glaucoma when they have already lost some of their eyesight. The reason
for the increased intraocular pressure are various eye diseases. Glaucoma
is responsible for about 20 percent of all cases of blindness. In the case
of glaucoma, ophthalmologists first lower the pressure with the help of eye
drops. Surgery can also lower the pressure in the eye.
Cataracts
In cataracts, the lens of the eye gradually becomes cloudy because substances
are deposited there and cloud the view. Cataracts are easy to operate: the
doctor replaces the clouded lens with a new plastic lens. In
industrialized countries, cataracts are very rare as an acquired cause of
blindness. It is different in developing countries, where medical care is
poor. The cataract is still a common cause of blindness there.
Diabetes and
blindness
The diabetes Diabetes mellitus
slowly damages the blood vessels. They gradually "saccharify"
when the blood sugar level is permanently too high. The fine vessels of
the retina in the eye (diabetic retinopathy), which can burst, are also
affected. The retina also swells and is poorly supplied with
oxygen. As a result, those affected see less clearly. If doctors do
not treat diabetic retinopathy in a timely and adequate manner, there is a risk
of blindness from diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is considered to be the
main cause of blindness in the middle ages of 40 to 80 years.
stroke
A cerebral infarction sometimes also damages those regions in the brain
that are responsible for vision. The optic nerves are poorly supplied with
blood and supplied with oxygen. Sometimes the nerves partially or even
completely stop working. Acting quickly is
therefore essential in the event of a stroke in order
to keep the damage to the brain as low as possible. Incidentally, visual disturbances are also a sign of a stroke!
Vascular occlusion in
the eye
In most of the elderly patients, an artery or vein seals the fundus of
the eye. This vascular occlusion leads to a lack of oxygen and damages the
tissue. The sensory cells (rods and cones of the retina) and nerve fibers
of the optic nerve are extremely sensitive to disturbances. If the
degradation products are no longer removed, those affected can suddenly go
blind on one side. Most of them do not feel pain, but the experience is
extremely frightening.
The reasons for a vascular blockage in the eye ("stroke in the eye")
can be age-related vascular changes ( arteriosclerosis ),
increased blood pressure, insufficient blood sugar control in diabetics,
increased cholesterol levels in the blood or heart diseases (especially Cardiac arrhythmias ).
Injuries and accidents
Puncture and impact injuries, acid burns or burns to the eye are less
likely to be the cause of blindness, but they are all the more devastating.
Retinal detachment
This eye disease is also rare, but it can very quickly lead to blindness. The
retina becomes detached from the eyeball. A warning is lightning and
zigzag lines in the eye. Inflammation of the vascular skin of the eye
(uveitis) can also cost eyesight.
Alcohol and blindness
In some countries, such as Russia, people go blind after consuming hard
liquor. The reason is that unprofessional distilling of schnapps creates
dangerous methanol. This alcohol variant is actually an additive in
solvents or antifreeze. When methanol is broke down in the body, poisonous
by-products such as formaldehyde and formic acid are produced. Impaired
eyesight is typical of methanol poisoning. The toxic breakdown products
block the metabolism, the retina swells and visual information no longer
reaches the brain. Ultimately, the toxins damage the optic nerve itself -
then permanent blindness threatens.
