by The LASIK eye doctors in Los Angeles make it clear that not every vision issue can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. When a patient has the strongest corrective lenses that aren’t sufficient enough to produce clear vision, that’s called visual impairment. Even if you don’t have a visual impairment, it’s good to know about them to help individuals who struggle with them every day.
What Are The Causes of Visual Impairment?
According to LASIK eye doctors in Los Angeles, visual impairments arise from various reasons, ranging from congenital disabilities to genetic disorders to eye diseases. Old age and eye injuries are other typical causes. We can reduce our risk of eye injury by using protective eyewear. We can aim for healthy habits (such as eating nutritious foods, avoiding smoking, and staying active) to maintain strong eyes as we get older. Some types of corrective eye surgery or even laser vision correction can repair certain eye problems, but not all of them can be treated.
Types Of Visual Impairment
Not all visually impaired people have the same experiences. For instance, glaucoma attacks the peripheral vision first, while macular degeneration usually affects the central vision. Other issues consist of diplopia (double vision), photophobia (light sensitivity), visual perception difficulties, and visual distortion.
What Do “Low Vision” and “Legally Blind” Mean?
If glasses or contacts can only let a person achieve a vision of up to 20/70 acuity or worse (meaning they can only see as much detail at 20 feet as most people could see from 70 feet away), they are thought to have low vision. If they can only get 20/200 vision with glasses or contacts on, they are legally blind. No laser vision correction can fix this.
Are There Different Types Of Blindness?
Blindness isn’t just loss of vision. Some people lose their sight, while some people are born blind. Blindness can come on quickly or develop very slowly, and some blind people can’t perceive any visual stimulation whatsoever, while others can decipher the difference between light and darkness.
What Can Sighted People Do to Help?
According to the LASIK eye doctors in Los Angeles, every visually impaired person should be treated with respect and dignity. Typically, it’s impolite to make a big fuss about a person’s disability, but you can politely welcome them, introduce yourself, and then ask if they need your help. Be ready to accept and hear a no, but here is some advice to follow if they say yes.
- If they want help with moving around, ask them where they want you to stand, try to stay at their walking speed, and be very clear about upcoming obstacles or alterations to the ground slope.
- When you are a guest in a visually impaired person’s home, make it a point to only put objects where they want them so that they can still find them later.
- Never pet a guide dog! These highly trained canines are doing an essential job for their owners. No matter how sweet they are, we should not divert their attention from their work.
- Keep in mind that visual impairment doesn’t stop people from having full lives, so keep a helpful attitude instead of a pitying one.
