What is Partial Blindness?

Most people visit their eye doctor in Miami Beach because they are concerned about going blind for some reason or another. There are many optical conditions that can cause people to go blind, and there are also many conditions that can reduce your vision to the point where you are unable to see effectively. Those who are unable to see well but can still make out objects and shapes are said to have partial blindness or low vision. People who are diagnosed with partial blindness have vision lower than 20/70. When someone reaches this point, there are few things that can be done to improve their vision back to what it once was. There are things that can be done to stop the degeneration of vision if the condition causing the blindness is caught early enough, though. This is why it’s so important to be examined by your eye doctor in Miami on a regular basis.

Common Causes of Partial Blindness

There are many ocular diseases which can reduce your ability to see normally. If you ask your Miami Beach eye doctor what the most common causes of partial blindness are, then you are likely going to hear about these diseases:

• An injury to the eye. If someone is hit directly in the eye or has chemicals splashed in them, then they can develop partial blindness.
• Glaucoma. This is a condition that is characterized by increased ocular pressure and results in damage to the optic nerves. It will eventually lead to complete blindness, but most people have it treated before it gets to that point.
• Macular degeneration. This is a condition where the macula, or center portion of the retina, begins to deteriorate. It results in blind spots or partial blindness.
• Cataracts. When a cataract develops over the lens of someone’s eye, it may cause them to experience partial blindness. This condition is treatable with surgical correction, though.

Different Types of Partial Blindness

Your Miami optometrist is going to explain the different types of partial blindness that people experience so you can be aware of what to look for. Depending on the cause of your partial blindness, you may experience a variety of different symptoms. For example, someone experiencing partial blindness because of cataracts may experience excessive glares and fuzziness in their vision. Someone experiencing partial blindness because of glaucoma may have entire spots of their vision missing or even feel like they are seeing through a tunnel. With macular degeneration, people often start losing their vision in the center portion of their sight while peripheral vision remains intact.

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