Fundamentals of Sight Loss

What is Sight Loss?

At its simplest, sight (or vision) loss is anything that affects a person’s ability to see clearly. It includes near and far vision and central and peripheral vision and cannot be corrected by glasses or lenses.

If we break down the 1.1 billion people who live with vision loss, 43 million are blind (0.5% of the global population), 295 million people have moderate to severe sight loss (3.7%). It is also predicted that by 2050, the number of bind people globally will increase to 61 million, and the number of people with moderate to severe sight loss will increase to 474 million.

What is Sight Loss?

There are many different causes which can include the following:

Congenital - born with some degree of sight loss, or an underlying condition that will lead to sight loss
Acquired - through illness, trauma, natural ageing

Types of Sight Loss

Like most conditions, the degree of sight loss can vary from person to person. It can be:

Partial - for example reduced central, or peripheral, blurry or patchy
Full - no vision at all
Mixed - glaucoma, or previous traumatic injury
Temporary
Permanent
Affecting one or both eyes

Possible Effects of People With Sight Loss

'It's like being in a fog sitting in a car moving at pace whilst raining - it's incredibly blurred'
'It's not blurred, more like smearing dirt on glass which means that you can see bits past/through it'
'Patchy...you can see coloured dots - worse on sunny days or when tired. It is like if you press your eyes and then release you see coloured dots'
'Can see light and shade - only in natural light'.
'Pain in the eyes and red eyes ....black floaters quite a bit'
'It is like being in a steam room with loads of steam where you can't see much in front of you. It fluctuates.

Let's bust some myths....click on the video below

How To Remove And Reduce Potential Barriers

Living with sight loss in a predominantly sighted world can be challenging. It can affect all aspects of everyday life such as work, communicating with other people, hobbies, travel, accessing information, cooking, childcare and education. When something prevents a person with sight loss from doing something that a sighted person could do – for example, when a website is not screen reader accessible – we call that a ‘barrier’.

There are many ways that people with sight loss can overcome these barriers and retain their independence. These are often referred to as ‘support’.

Legal Responsibilities

The Equality Act 2010 protects people with sight loss in England, Wales and Scotland, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland.

Individuals who have been certified by a consultant ophthalmologist as 'severely sight impaired (blind) or sight impaired (partially sighted) are automatically covered under the Equality Act.

A person does not need to hold a Certificate of Vision Impairment to be covered by the Act. If they experience substantial barriers in their day to day life because of sight loss, they are likely to be protected by legislation in the UK.

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