There are many causes of legal blindness, including accidents, injuries, and eye diseases. The four main causes of legal blindness are eye diseases, namely age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. An estimated 1.1 million Americans are legally blind. Certain conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes, and macular degeneration, can affect your vision to the point where you can be diagnosed with the disease. A visual acuity exam is an eye exam that tests a person`s ability to identify the shapes and details of objects presented. Visual acuity is expressed as a fraction. A person with normal vision will have a visual acuity of 20/20. A person is considered legally blind if a visual impairment limits vision to 20/200 or one-tenth of normal vision. For people with legal blindness, different treatment options are available depending on the cause of their visual impairment. However, in some cases, such as retinal degeneration disorders, the symptoms can be treated, but there is no cure. 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. As in the past, legal blindness continues to be defined as the best corrected visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the best eye; or a limitation of the field of vision so that the widest diameter of the field of view on the best eye tends to be an angle not exceeding 20 degrees, measured with a Goldmann III4e stimulus or equivalent size. Eye trauma or injury and genetic diseases, such as Usher syndrome, can also lead to legal blindness. Here is a definition of low vision that refers to visual acuity: Most surveys and studies show that the majority of people with vision loss in the United States are adults who are not completely blind; Instead, they have what`s called poor eyesight. You may have heard the terms “partial vision” or “partial blindness” or even “poor eyesight,” which are also used to describe low vision. However, these descriptions are no longer commonly used. Legal blindness does not mean that someone cannot see anything at all. In fact, most people who are legally blind retain some eyesight. You can see objects directly in front of you, but not on the sides (tunnel vision). Or they have good peripheral vision but have difficulty seeing objects directly in front of them (loss of central vision).

In most cases, people who are legally blind have their field of vision so narrow or blurred that daily activities are made more difficult. Some people also have blind spots that can`t be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Legal blindness occurs when a person has a central visual acuity (vision that allows a person to see right in front of them) of 20/200 or less in their best eye with correction. With a visual acuity of 20/200, a person can see at 20 feet what a person with a vision of 20/20 sees at 200 feet. If you have any questions about your own visual acuity, or if it`s been a long time since you`ve seen an ophthalmologist to determine your vision, contact us. We are happy to assess your vision with a series of painless tests and discuss your concerns. You can talk to the doctor about how you see now and the options available to help you get your best vision possible! A legally blind person with 20/200 vision (with the best corrective lenses) would have to be 20 feet away from an object to see it, and someone with 20/20 vision could see it from 200 feet away. Visual acuity of 20/20 is considered “perfect vision” because no help is needed to see better, and the average person with good vision can clearly see what doctors have determined to be 20/20 vision.

Some people (especially young people with good eyes) may see letters smaller than the overall size “20/20”. You may be surprised to learn that it is Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who determines whether you are legally blind. While low vision or legal blindness can be limiting, there are many resources and tools to help you live your life with the utmost independence. Depending on the cause of your vision loss, you may be able to benefit from eye exercises and strategies to participate in daily activities. You may also find it helpful to use a stick, talking calculator, special computer software, and other products to help people who are legally blind. Being considered legally blind means you can`t drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. “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 common test for visual acuity is Snellen`s eye chart.

Someone who is legally blind could simply read the top row of the chart, a capital E, while wearing corrective lenses. The line under the capital E is the line for 20/100. There are also tests that can measure between 20/200 and 20/100. Someone who can`t see the line for 20/100 but sees somewhere between 20/100 and 20/200 would still meet the government`s standard of legal blindness, which is why they are listed as “20/200 or less.” 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.