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. To be legally blind, you must meet one of two criteria: visual acuity (visual acuity) and field of vision (the full range of what you can see without moving your eyes). People who are legally blind are often entitled to special services and supports. Legal blindness is different from total blindness, which describes the complete loss of any visual perception of light. Most legally blind people can still see light, but the objects in their vision are very blurry. Cases of visual impairment and blindness in the United States are expected to double by 2050. National Institutes of Health. May 2016. 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.

You may be surprised to learn that it is Uncle Sam, not the doctor, who determines whether you are legally blind. They are considered legally blind if the test detects a field of view of 20 degrees or less. You may hear that this is called tunnel vision. Being considered legally blind means you can`t drive in any state. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. The terms may also be used by health insurers to determine benefits and as part of the vision screening tests required by state departments of motor vehicles (DMV) when determining driver`s license eligibility. For safety reasons, people who are legally blind or visually impaired are generally not entitled to a driver`s licence. An ophthalmologist will measure visual acuity and visual field to determine if a person is legally blind. Another way of looking at it: if someone with 20/20 vision is standing next to a legally blind person, the legally blind person should approach up to 20 feet to see an object from 200 feet away, as well as the person with normal vision. These options can all be used to help a person with legal blindness live more independently and enjoy the same activities more as people with normal vision. Eye trauma or injury and genetic diseases, such as Usher syndrome, can also lead to legal blindness.

This means that a blind person with 20/200 vision sees objects that are about one-tenth as sharp as a person with 20/20 vision. American printing house for the blind. What is legal blindness? If you learn that you are legally blind, organizations like the American Foundation for the Blind can help. They have programs to help you cope with the physical and emotional effects of vision loss. Normal visibility is 20/20. This means that you can clearly see an object from 20 feet away. If you are legally blind, your vision is 20/200 or less in your best eye or your field of vision is less than 20 degrees. That is, if an object is 200 feet away, you must stand 20 feet away from it to see it clearly. But a person with normal vision can stand at 200 feet and see this object perfectly. 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. Professionally trained guide dogs can also be of great help to many people who are legally blind. 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.” “Legally blind” is the definition of blindness used by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) to determine whether a person is eligible for disability benefits, tax exemptions, and training for the visually impaired. The government uses the term “statutory blindness” to decide who can receive certain benefits, such as disability or vocational training. This is not the same as being completely blind. A wide field of vision is crucial for activities such as driving a car or crossing a busy road. Visual field tests can determine if you have a normal field of view with no blind spots or unusual narrowing of your peripheral vision. Although some people become legally blind after an accident, several eye conditions can also cause legal blindness and other vision problems. If someone is legally blind due to their visual acuity, it means that the sharpness of their vision cannot be improved beyond 20/200, even with the help of their glasses or contact lenses.

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. The U.S. Social Security Administration provides benefits to persons who are legally blind. States and federal tax authorities also allow certain tax deductions. Four main causes of right blindness in the United States are: Some people may read a small series of letters on an eyechart, but they cannot see the person standing next to them without turning their head. This describes legal blindness due to poor peripheral visibility. There are many conditions that can cause legal blindness, but the most common are age-related eye diseases. Age-related eye diseases that are the main causes of low vision and blindness: According to the American Foundation for the Blind, legally blind is not the same as completely blind, which is used to describe the inability to see anything in either eye. Most people who are legally blind have some eyesight. Several NGOs can help people with legal blindness lead a more normal life, even with severe visual impairment.

In the United States, legal blindness is based on measurements of central visual acuity (which is right in front of you) and field of vision (what is above, below, and to the sides). A person is legally blind if their best eye – when wearing glasses or contact lenses – has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less, or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees. Being legally blind affects your eyesight, but that doesn`t have to stop you from living a fulfilling life. Striem-Amit E, Gen M, Amedi A. “Visual acuity of congenital blind persons by visual sensory substitution for auditory. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e33136.