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World Sight Day 2018: Protect Your Vision By Knowing the Main Causes of Vision Impairment

Ready to celebrate the miracle of sight? World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October. According to the World Health Organization, the mission of World Sight Day is to heighten global attention to the issues of blindness and vision impairment.

Approximately 253 million people around the globe live with low vision and blindness. Globally, 36 million people are completely blind. Observing World Sight Day gives organizations an opportunity to discuss ways to prevent blindness and talk about successful interventions for those with vision impairment.

When millions of people still suffer from vision impairment, it begs the question: What causes all these vision issues? Can you protect your eyes from future vision loss?

Here are the main causes of vision impairment and blindness:

  • Uncorrected Refractive Error: This is one of the leading causes of blindness and severe/moderate vision impairment all over the world. In some places throughout the world, eye care is sparse or too expensive for the average population to benefit from. But, several non-profits and relief organizations are working to change that.
  • Diabetic Retinopathy: Some 371 million people have diabetes globally. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes and can lead to total blindness.
  • Cataracts: Cataracts occur when the eye’s natural lens becomes clouded. It’s the most common loss of vision in people over the age of 40. It is also the principal cause of blindness in the world. Most of the time, cataracts can be fixed with surgery, but, in some countries, this isn’t an affordable or available option.
  • Glaucoma: Glaucoma is a disease where increased ocular pressure damages the optic nerve. There are treatment options for glaucoma, but without diagnosis or treatment, glaucoma leads to blindness.
  • AMD (Advanced Macular Degeneration): AMD is considered an incurable eye disease and is caused by thinning of the macula (part of your retina). It causes blurred or reduced vision and eventually vision loss.

Of course there are other causes of vision loss, such as blindness or vision impairment as a result of an accident or eye injury. On this World Sight Day, we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to protect and preserve your vision. Schedule an annual eye exam at your closest Eyeglass World to protect your vision and detect any of the above causes of impending vision loss.