Not only adults of different age groups suffer from an existing visual impairment. Even very young children and newborns can already develop a visual impairment.
What is a visual impairment?
A visual impairment is considered to be a more or less intense impairment of vision or the ability to perceive visually. Without treatment, a visual impairment usually persists throughout life and is based on a wide variety of functional limitations of the eye and nerves involved in vision. In this context, visual impairment occurs as blindness or partial loss of sight. In the case of partial visual impairment, visual stimuli can still be perceived, so that the quality of life of those affected in these cases, although limited, is higher than that of a blind person. The chances of recovery for visual impairment depend on the particular causes and triggers.
Causes
Causes that can lead to visual impairment include several aspects. These refer to diseases of the eye, brain or nerves, which may have organic or functional impairments. These contribute to people having “poor vision.” Typical causes of visual impairment include damage to the retina due to existing diabetes mellitus and permanently high sugar levels, macular regression, glaucoma, or cataracts. A visual impairment can also be a secondary disease of a stroke, a tumor growth or an injury of the skull including the brain. Visual impairment is most often caused by clouding of the lens of the eye (cataract), damage to the optic nerve due to abnormal intraocular pressure (glaucoma), or degenerative processes of the retina. Diabetic retinopathy also has a prophylactic role in visual impairment.
Symptoms, complaints, and signs
Visual impairment always manifests as a limitation of vision – either in general or in certain situations. In addition, the limitation may increase over time. The symptoms of visual impairment are relative. It is also possible for an already existing visual impairment, such as myopia, to lead to the appearance of a further visual impairment. Thus, the symptomatology always consists of a deterioration of the current vision. For example, short-sightedness or long-sightedness may occur, which is mainly manifested by the fact that the point of sharpest vision shifts. Thus, either near or far objects can no longer be seen sharply. Both conditions usually worsen over time. Nearsightedness often occurs in childhood. Other forms of impaired vision include night blindness or problems with color vision. A distinction can be made between color vision deficiencies and complete color blindness. The most serious visual impairment is an occurring blindness, which can either occur acutely or develop as a result of disease. Furthermore, all occurring restrictions of the field of vision are also considered as visual impairment. For example, there may be reductions in the field of vision, visual disturbances or stimulus processing problems. In all cases, the affected person’s vision is limited by various confounding factors.
Diagnosis and course
The course of visual impairment is always determined by the causative triggers. Basically, affected individuals suffer less from pain and more from a decrease in visual ability (acuity) or from a limitation of the face or field of vision. In some cases, visual impairment or blindness is already congenital. If left untreated, visual impairment leads to deterioration of vision. The diagnosis of visual impairment includes the patient’s description of the impairments as well as specific abnormalities. These are, for example, headaches, watery eyes, veiled vision and other peculiarities. In addition, a screening examination, an assessment of the visual field, the measurement of intraocular pressure, the so-called fundus and skiascopy serve as proven classic diagnostic and differential diagnostic procedures for visual impairment.
Complications
A visual impairment can of course exist in different degrees of severity, so that possible complications can vary greatly. If one assumes a complete visual impairment, the affected person is of course very limited in everyday life. If there is a complete visual impairment, then there are often considerable orientation problems, a feeling of dizziness and long-lasting nausea. People who have been suffering from a visual impairment for only a short time must first learn to cope with it. The simplest things suddenly become a great challenge, so that under certain circumstances psychological problems and stress can arise. Of course, a visual impairment can occur suddenly and unexpectedly. People who suffer from a sudden visual impairment are considerably overwhelmed with the overall situation in the first time. In some cases, visual impairment is caused due to an infection in the eye, which is naturally associated with various complications. Excessive pus production may occur, so that the eye is stuck together and vision is severely impaired. If such a condition is left untreated, further complications can occur. Increased pus production and prolonged headaches are possible accompanying symptoms that can become increasingly severe if left untreated.
When should you see a doctor?
A doctor should always be consulted for visual impairment. No self-healing occurs and the symptoms usually worsen if treatment is not initiated. Only a correct diagnosis and treatment of the visual impairment can prevent further complications or, in the worst case, complete blindness. A doctor should be consulted if the affected person suffers from visual complaints. These usually occur without any particular reason and do not disappear on their own. This can be a visual impairment, veil vision or strabismus. Likewise, a doctor should also be consulted in the case of color blindness, as this usually does not disappear again on its own. In case of a visual impairment, an ophthalmologist should be consulted. Not always can a visual impairment be treated, so that in some cases the affected persons are dependent on visual aids for life.
Treatment and therapy
The selection of the right therapeutic method is determined by various factors, which must be considered in the case of visual impairment. Within the overall therapies of visual impairment, the optimal conditions exist to find suitable aids first. These are the glasses or the contact lens to reduce visual impairment. In the case of glaucoma or cataract, surgical interventions against visual impairment are mainly considered. In so-called retinopathies of prematurity, laser therapy is useful. Detected tumors are combated with radiation or chemotherapy in case of visual impairment. An increase of the visual ability in case of a visual impairment can be realized on the basis of a so-called occlusion therapy. In addition, visual impairment can also be treated to a certain degree by correcting corneal curvature. Also corneal implantation retinal lasers have become common nowadays as a therapy against visual impairment. High-grade visual impairment usually cannot be adequately treated because the deterioration of vision is already too advanced.
Prevention
Prevention against acquired visual impairment is based on regular eye examinations. Diabetics should pay attention to a professionally versed adjustment of blood glucose levels and have their eyes checked regularly against visual impairment. Mechanisms that can be integrated into everyday life are also important to protect the eyes and prevent visual impairment. Workplaces with non-reflective screens, light that is optimal for the eyes, wearing sunglasses and protective glasses, the right distance when reading and reducing stressors in everyday life are all helpful in avoiding having to suffer from a visual impairment. Generally, however, not all visual impairments can be prevented. Some visual impairments are triggered by advancing age, for example.
Aftercare
In many cases, the measures of aftercare for a visual impairment are severely limited, and in some cases they are not even available to the affected person.Therefore, the affected person should also ideally see a doctor at the first signs and symptoms of these diseases, so that it does not come to other complaints or complications. As a rule, self-healing is not possible in the case of visual impairment. Some of the complaints can be relatively well alleviated and treated with a visual aid. However, the affected person should always make sure to wear and use these visual aids regularly, as the visual acuity may otherwise decrease again. The further course of the visual impairment, however, depends very much on the exact nature and the extent, so that a general course cannot be predicted. In severe cases, the affected person is sometimes dependent on the help and care of relatives and friends. This can make the daily life of the affected person much easier. Visual impairment does not usually reduce the life expectancy of the affected person, although a general prediction cannot be made here.
What you can do yourself
The visual impairment is, of course, primarily taken care of by the attending ophthalmologist and optometrist. Nevertheless, self-help in everyday life is also very important, especially if the visual impairment is massive. Self-help groups, the doctor and the optician are valuable contact points to get tips for self-help. The exchange of like-minded people with the same problems is of essential importance. Self-help groups are often superior to medical institutions also because of the regularity of visits and the information they provide. Visual disturbances can be well compensated for by a magnifying glass, especially in the case of small print. The magnifying glass at home can be always grffbereit at hand. In supermarkets, magnifying glasses are often attached to the shopping carts and make it possible to read the prices as well as the information written on a package. On the computer, the font can be made larger in an instant, so that reading small letters need not be expected of a visually impaired person. For children and young people whose visual impairment has only just been discovered, ophthalmologists offer vision schools that can bring good results. It is also important to give the eyes a break now and then. Constant work at a computer screen should be interrupted every now and then, and even when driving, a break is needed to give tired eyes a rest.