Partial blindness. Possible causes of blindness include. Causes of sudden blindness

The worst thing that can happen to a person is sudden loss vision. After all, vision is the sense organ through which we can navigate in this world, see/communicate with others, carry out everyday activities, and, ultimately, guarantee ourselves safety in terms of movement in space.

Why does blindness occur?

There are several main reasons for the onset - we will list them. Sudden vision loss can occur due to:

• Diseases/damages of the retina;
• At acute obstruction central artery in the retina No.
• With total hemophthalmia;
• With traumatic brain injury.

Symptoms of acute retinal artery obstruction

A pathology such as acute obstruction of the central retinal artery differs from most eye diseases in that it occurs quite suddenly. The first symptom that cannot be ignored is a sharp (sudden) loss of vision.

The cause of acute obstruction of the retinal artery must be sought in spasm blood vessels or in arterial thrombosis.

Important!

Those at risk for sudden loss include patients with hypertension; patients with heart defects; those who have chronic infectious lesions.

So, the first symptom of this pathology is sudden loss of vision. If you look at the retina of the eye, you will notice heavy hemorrhage in the center of the eye. This is explained by the fact that blood stagnates in the blood arteries.

What to do in case of acute retinal artery obstruction?

If a person suddenly loses vision due to acute obstruction of an artery retina and at the same time you know for sure that he is in the main risk group (hypertension, heart defects), then in this case it is necessary:

• Place nitroglycerin under the patient's tongue;
• Give validol;
• Call ambulance;
• If there is such a possibility, then administer 10 ml of aminophylline solution (2.4%) intravenously;
• 1 ml is also administered intravenously nicotinic acid 1%;
• Emergency doctors administer: 0.3 ml of caffeine solution, 1000 units of fibronolysin, 500 units of retrobulbar and intravenous steptodecase.

Patients diagnosed with sudden loss of vision must be urgently hospitalized in the eye department.

Loss of vision due to hemorrhoids

A person may suddenly lose vision due to profuse hemorrhage V vitreous eyes. This leads to a sudden loss of vision. The phenomenon of hemorrhage occurs due to the fact that in eyeball the patient's blood vessels rupture.

The risk group for hemorrhagic fever includes those who have suffered as a result of an accident; suffered a traumatic brain injury; those who were shell-shocked due to negative external influence; as a result of an acute stabbing wound; due to pathologies of cardio-vascular system; influenced diabetic coma; as well as those who suffer from arterial hypertension.

What to do with hemorrhagic fever?

A patient diagnosed with hemophthalmia is given an emergency dose of 750 units. fibronolysin, then 2000 units. streptokinase and the same amount of streptodecase (injection is made under the conjunctiva).

Must be taken orally ascorbic acid and hemostatic – dicynon. Patients with sudden loss of vision must be urgently hospitalized in a medical facility.

Cerebrovascular accident

In case of violation cerebral circulation a person may suddenly experience so-called cortical blindness. This phenomenon occurs when the occipital lobes of the brain are simultaneously affected.

The risk group for cortical blindness includes: patients suffering from hypertension, as well as those who have been poisoned by poisons or chemicals.

The first symptoms of cerebrovascular accident are the lack of reaction of the pupil to light, the inability of a person to orientate himself in space. Then, it is discovered that the person has completely or partially lost his vision.

Important!

Patients with cerebrovascular accidents must be urgently hospitalized in the neurological department, where appropriate medical care will be provided.

Hysterical state and vision

Loss of vision can occur due to acute hysteria. If the patient has been nervous for a long period of time, has become hysterical, screamed, or lost his temper, then this unpleasant symptom, like a sudden plunge into darkness, loss of consciousness and even paralysis of the limbs.

Before this, a person feels as if he is stuck, his gait is disturbed, his orientation in space and time is lost, and goosebumps appear before his eyes.

In this case, those around you should mandatory call an ambulance, and give the patient any depressant and do not disturb until the doctors arrive.

Classification of blindness

Sudden (sharp) blindness can be of several types:

• Intermittent - a person loses vision for a while due to embolism ophthalmic artery. After some time, full vision is restored.
• Optical – for circulatory disorders optic nerve sudden temporary loss of vision occurs.
• Temporal arteritis - if treatment for this pathology is not started in a timely manner, the treatment will completely destroy the ability to see. The first symptom of pathology is a feeling of noise in the head and pulsation in the temples. Treatment is with prednisolone.
• Ischemic optic neuropathy occurs in those who have had diabetes for several years. Treatment should be carried out from the underlying disease, since vision loss is only a symptom.
• Partial loss of vision (in one eye) – when a person’s eye tissue suddenly begins to peel off, vision loss begins. The first symptom is migraine. The risk group includes those who have suffered one or more strokes, as well as HIV-infected patients.

There are many reasons that cause vision loss. They are divided into hereditary (congenital form) and acquired.

Photo 1. Girl with blindness. The eye cornea has a characteristic whitish-bluish tint.

Most often to sharp decline or complete loss of the ability to see is caused by various diseases - ophthalmological, endocrine, infectious.

In 47-50% of cases, vision loss occurs due to the following diseases eye:

• cataracts;
• glaucoma;
• high myopia;
• trachoma;
• corneal leukomas;
• xerophthalmia.

Important! In elderly people, decreased vision, up to its loss, occurs due to general diseases(hypertension) and dystrophic changes in the retina.

Injuries. What is crust and snow blindness?

Traumatic injuries eyes and heads - a common cause of loss of visual function at a young age.

Blinding due to injuries is often monocular in nature, when one eye does not see. Damage to the cerebral cortex in the visual area causes cortical form of pathology.

A special form of the disease is snow form of the disease. Loss of visual function in this case occurs due to a burn to the cornea from sun rays reflected by snow crystals.

Genetic defects

Congenital forms pathologies develop due to genetic mutations. The causes of vision loss are optic aplasia or albinism which are inherited.

High risk children who were exposed during the period have visual abnormalities intrauterine development influence negative factors. So, to genetic “breakdowns” when laying visual organs lead to in the fetus influenza viruses, rubella, mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Attention! Those at risk for congenital visual impairment are: premature babies.

Other reasons

Sometimes blindness provokes use of certain chemicals. Reception methyl alcohol even in small volumes causes powerful intoxication of the entire body and death of the optic nerve.

Other causes of vision loss include intentional actions. Blinding in similar cases occurs consciously, with the desire to inflict irreparable harm human health. Particularly dangerous are penetrating wounds to the eye area and acid burns.

Photo 2. Consequences of an acid burn to the cornea. This can cause blindness in many cases.

Types of disease

To determine the severity of pathology, many scales have been developed. The division of pathology into types deserves special attention:

• Absolute. Visual function is completely absent, the pupils do not react to light.
• Practical. Visual abilities are partially preserved, the person is able to distinguish light from darkness. But practical benefit such vision does not carry.

Additionally, there are several specific types of pathology:

• Scotoma- an anomaly in which the field of vision is partially lost.
• Colorblindness- inability to perceive color, although visual acuity is preserved.
• Night blindness - inability to perceive objects in twilight and darkness.

Reference. In ophthalmology there is the concept of selective blindness. This condition is characterized by the inability to distinguish certain signs - shape of an object, shades of color.

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Classification: pathology in one and both eyes

By International classification diseases there are several types visual disturbances:

• Blindness on both eyes. Develops due to genetic predisposition, congenital diseases.
• Blindness in one eye with reduced visual acuity in the other. It occurs against the background of long-term myopia, cataracts, amblyopia, and glaucoma.
• Decrease in visual acuity in both eyes. The reasons lie in diabetic retinopathy, initial stages cataracts, age-related changes.
• Loss of vision in both eyes for unspecified reasons.
• Blindness on one eye. Causes - atrial fibrillation, head injuries (especially in occipital region), heart defects.
• Decreased visual acuity in one eye. Occurs with retinal detachment, strabismus, mechanical or chemical damage, or concussion.
• Loss of vision in one eye (unspecified).
• Loss of vision (unspecified).

Diagnostics

Diagnosis is carried out through a series of studies. With their help, the severity of the disorder is determined.

A mandatory procedure is visometry and ophthalmoscopy, during which the fundus of the eye is examined.

Sometimes prescribed electroretinography- a study that evaluates performance visual analyzer.

If a scotoma is suspected, a perimetry- a method that allows you to establish the boundaries of the field of view and their loss.

Pathologists identify the color form using Ishihara tests and Rabkin tables.

Therapeutic measures

Therapy directly depends on the root cause blindness. If the anomaly is congenital or due to damage to the optic nerve, restoration of vision is not possible. It is also impossible to compensate for blindness in people who have had a stroke.

Other forms of impairment are classified as reversible. Vision lost due to cataracts and glaucoma can be restored after the underlying disease is cured. If a decrease in visual function occurs due to the onset of retinal detachment, it helps laser or surgical treatment.

Blindness caused by cerebral vasospasm is successfully corrected drug therapy. It contains antispasmodics and vasodilators. Vision loss after traumatic brain injury is treated with neurosurgical intervention.

Important! Effective treatment color form pathology does not yet exist. Only partial correction is possible visual perception using lenses or glasses.

Prevention

Taking basic preventative measures can prevent up to 80% of cases of the disease.

So, compliance with safety regulations for eye protection at work and at home helps prevent vision loss due to injury.

But the most effective measure is early diagnosis cataracts and myopia, that cause vision loss in 50% of cases. It is equally important to regularly monitor your blood glucose levels and weight, and also adhere to healthy image life. All this allows you to maintain optimal functioning of the visual system.

How to live if you are blind

Loss of vision, especially sudden - serious shock for a person. Blindness causes emotional problems and makes social adjustment difficult. But thanks to public support, people who have lost their sight have there is a chance for active life and overcoming isolation.

Reference . In every region, localityThere are organizations (communities) helping the blind. The goals of their activities are aimed at targeted support for the blind, their training, employment and involvement in cultural leisure.

Organization of the environment plays an important role in the adaptation of the blind. Blind people can navigate outdoors and indoors through a guide dog and a white cane. Traffic lights with sound signals, barriers on sidewalks, and embossed road signs also come to the rescue.

Photo 3. A blind man uses a guide dog and a special white cane to navigate the city.

A major breakthrough in improving the quality of life of the blind was creation of computer programs and devices based on speech technologies. Thanks to this, the blind and visually impaired have the opportunity to listen to books and control a computer using their voice.

Useful video

Watch a video excerpt from the program “Live Healthy,” which talks about the reasons for the development of blindness in one eye.

Prevention is easier than cure

Blindness is one of the most terrible diagnoses. Loss of vision, whether complete or partial, is life-changing.

The causes of the disease are varied- from banal injuries to bad heredity.

Modern advances in medicine make it possible to successfully correct visual impairments, but prevention is of paramount importance(health monitoring, early diagnosis and treatment of somatic diseases). A the slightest violation visual function is a reason to consult a doctor.

Blindness is a pronounced degree of developmental anomalies and visual impairments, in which visual perception is impossible or very limited.

Causes

The main causes of blindness include:

• Optic macular degeneration
• Corneal opacity
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Onchocerciasis
• Keratomalacia and xerophthalmia
• Injuries, infections, poisoning by certain chemicals

Blindness in children can be caused by vitamin A deficiency, cataracts and retinopathy in prematurity.

Symptoms of blindness

People who have no visual sensations are considered blind. At the same time, they may have light perception and residual vision in the eye, which sees better within 0.01 - 0.05D with correction by glasses or contact lenses.

People with blindness cannot perceive the color, shape, size of objects and their location in space. Therefore, it is difficult for them to navigate in space, and the formation of movements is delayed. At the same time, blind people have an enhanced orienting reaction to sound.

Vision loss can be sudden or gradual if the cause is a medical condition.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of vision loss is carried out by an ophthalmologist. It tests visual acuity, measures the width of visual fields, and color vision of each eye separately.

Types of disease

The following types of blindness are distinguished:

• Total (absolute). Visual sensations in both eyes are completely absent. The pupil does not react to light
• Practical. This species is characterized by residual vision and preserved color and light perception

There are some specific types of blindness:

• Colorblindness. Characterized by the inability to distinguish colors. Visual acuity is usually normal
• Night blindness. The symptom is the inability to distinguish surrounding objects in twilight and partial darkness. In the vast majority of cases, patients with this pathology have normal visual acuity during daylight hours.
• Snow blindness. It manifests itself as a deterioration or complete absence of visual perception caused by exposure to powerful UV radiation. This type of blindness usually goes away over time and never causes complete blindness.

Blindness, as a visual impairment, can be temporary or permanent.

Patient Actions

Contact your ophthalmologist if you experience the following symptoms:

• Decreased visual acuity
• Appearance of glare, spots, veils, narrowing of visual fields, loss of parts of visual fields
• Got it in the eye foreign object or an eye injury has occurred

It is necessary to call an ambulance in the following cases:

• Penetrating eye injury
• Eye burn
• Sharp pain in the eye of a bursting nature, redness, enlargement of the eye
• Black spots suddenly appeared, visual fields disappear

Treatment of blindness

Some types of total blindness are reversible. In particular, vision lost due to cataracts, inflammatory and infectious diseases, is recovering after treatment of the underlying disease. For acute vision loss (for example, retinal detachment), surgical or laser treatment is possible.

Treatment depends on the cause of blindness. If the cause is a dysfunction of the optic nerve, or the lack of vision is caused by a cerebral hemorrhage, it is usually not possible to restore vision. The patient needs psychological assistance and in learning to move without vision control.

A modern achievement in the treatment of blindness is artificial visual system"bionic eye"

Complications

Blindness in children (from birth or acquired in early age) causes some delay in the development of motor skills and spoken language.

In children and adults, blindness impairs quality of life and can cause emotional problems and difficulties with social adjustment.

Blindness- inability to perceive visual stimuli - can be sudden or gradual, temporary or irreversible, partial or complete.

Vision loss may result from an ocular, neurological or systemic disease, injury, or the use of certain medications.

The outcome of the disease often depends on timely, correct diagnosis and adequate treatment.

Possible causes of blindness include:

This disease can cause repeated attacks of one-sided blindness that last from a few seconds to several minutes. The rest of the time, vision is normal. The examination may reveal increased intraocular pressure and some other abnormalities in the affected eye.

2. Cataract.

It usually manifests as a painless, subtle and gradual loss of vision that precedes blindness. The disease is progressive and can only be treated surgically.

3. Contusion.

Head injuries are immediately observed. The patient may have blurred vision, double vision, or loss of vision. These phenomena are usually temporary. Other signs include: headache, amnesia, impaired consciousness, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, irritability, drowsiness and aphasia.

4. Hereditary dystrophy corneal ulcers can cause vision loss, which is accompanied by pain, photophobia, lacrimation and corneal clouding.

5. Diabetic retinopathy.

Swelling and hemorrhage lead to visual disturbances that can progress to complete blindness. Observed in uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.

6. Endophthalmitis.

This intraocular inflammation usually occurs after penetrating wound eyes, eye surgeries, etc. Unilateral vision loss is irreversible. The inflammation may even spread to the neighboring eye.

7. Glaucoma.

This disease causes progressive damage to the optic nerve, leading to complete blindness. The reason for this is increased intraocular pressure. Sometimes the disease occurs in the form of acute angle-closure glaucoma, a condition that requires urgent treatment, as it can lead to complete blindness within 3-5 days. But more often, glaucoma proceeds for years without showing itself in any way.

8. Shingles(Herpes zoster virus).

When viral infection affects the nasociliary nerve, and bilateral blindness may occur. The disease is accompanied by a rash in the nose, conjunctivitis and paralysis of the eye muscles.

9. Hyphema- blood in the anterior chamber of the eye.

The accumulation of blood can interfere with light perception, reducing vision. Hyphema is usually the result of injury to the eye.

10. Keratitis- inflammation of the cornea - can eventually cause complete loss of vision in the affected eye. The disease is accompanied by lacrimation, photophobia, irritation and clouding of the cornea.

11. Eye injury.

Sudden one-sided or two-sided blindness can occur due to injury to the eye. Vision loss due to trauma can be partial or complete, temporary or permanent, depending on which structures are affected.

12. Optic atrophy.

Degeneration, or atrophy, of the optic nerve can cause a narrowing of the visual field, impaired color perception, and complete loss of vision. Atrophy can occur spontaneously or as a result of inflammatory diseases.

13. Neuritis(inflammation of) the optic nerve usually results in severe but temporary unilateral vision loss. Inflammation is accompanied by slow pupillary response, visual field defects, and pain around the eye, especially when moving the eyeball.

14. Paget's disease.

With this disease, bone pressure on cranial nerves leads to double-sided blindness, hearing loss, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and headaches. Characterized by constant strong pain in the bones.

15. Papilledema occurs due to increased intracranial pressure. It can occur in acute and chronic form.

16. Pituitary tumor.

As the tumor grows, patients may experience progressive visual impairment, up to complete bilateral blindness. Nystagmus, ptosis, limited eye movement, double vision, and headache may be observed.

17. Retinal artery occlusion.

It is painless, extremely dangerous condition, causing unilateral vision loss, which may be complete or partial. After several hours without treatment, blindness becomes irreversible, so retinal vascular thrombosis must be treated immediately.

18. Retinal detachment.

Wherein in serious condition Painless, sudden loss of vision may occur. Urgent treatment is required.

19. Rift Valley Fever.

One of the complications of this viral disease- inflammation of the retina, which can lead to vision loss. Other signs of illness include: fever, muscle pain, weakness, dizziness, back pain. Some patients develop encephalitis or hemorrhagic complications.

20. Senile retinal dystrophy causes painless loss of vision. Blindness can occur relatively quickly or develop gradually. Visual acuity may be much worse at night.

21. Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

In this severe disease, scarring of the cornea leads to vision loss, which may be accompanied by purulent conjunctivitis, pain in the eyes. Other symptoms include: fever, rash, malaise, cough, sore throat, vomiting, chest pain, muscle and joint pain, and kidney failure.

22. Giant cell arteritis.

Inflammation of the blood vessels leads to vision problems, as well as a one-sided, throbbing headache. Other signs are malaise, anorexia, weight loss, weakness, muscle pain, and a slight increase in temperature.

23. Trachoma (chlamydial infection).

This rare disease may initially cause visual impairment of varying severity in combination with a “minor” infection similar to bacterial conjunctivitis. Signs include: inflammation of the eyelids, pain, photophobia, lacrimation, discharge from the eye, etc.

24. Uveitis - inflammation of the uveal tract (choroid eyes) - can cause unilateral vision loss. Uveitis can cause pain, severe injection of conjunctival vessels, photophobia, blurred vision, and visual errors.

25. Vitreous hemorrhage.

This condition may result from eye injury, eye tumors, or systemic diseases(especially ones like diabetes, hypertension, sickle cell anemia, leukemia). Hemorrhage can cause sudden blindness and redness of the eye. Vision loss may be irreversible.

Medicines that can cause vision loss include the following:

Causes of vision loss in children.

Other congenital causes blindness in children includes: Marfan syndrome, amblyopia (lazy eye) and retinitis pigmentosa.

Konstantin Mokanov

Blindness occurs when one suffers visual ability optical system. This disease is characterized by either a significant decrease in visual function or its complete loss.

At the same time it decreases as peripheral vision, and central. There are several types of blindness:

• Total, or absolute, blindness.
• Practical blindness.

In complete blindness, vision is absent on both sides. In cases of practical blindness, light perception or slight color perception may be preserved.

Causes of blindness

Usually a person is afraid of remaining blind, so this condition gives rise to many questions. For example, is it possible to go blind while sleeping? Doctors have a unanimous opinion regarding the occurrence of blindness: healthy person blindness cannot develop suddenly. Most often this pathology is a consequence various diseases:

• Glaucoma;
• Anchocerciasis;
• Cataract;
• Trachoma;
• Degeneration of the optic spot;
• Diabetic retinopathy;
• Injury;
• Xerophthalmia, keratomalacia.

There are some types of blindness that do not involve complete absence vision.

These include, for example, color blindness. In this case, the patient is unable to distinguish some colors. This disease occurs more often in men (about 8%), but can also be diagnosed in women (less than 1%). Despite the impairment of color vision, vision in such patients remains normal.

Night blindness is accompanied by a significant decrease in visual function in twilight conditions. This condition is often genetic in nature, but can also develop as a result of certain diseases. With such visual impairment, the patient sees well during daylight hours, but in the evening and at night he practically cannot distinguish objects.

With the so-called snow blindness, visual function deteriorates significantly in conditions of powerful ultraviolet radiation. Quite often, this pathology resolves due to the proliferation of tissue on the surface of the cornea. It is important to note that snow blindness never results in permanent loss of visual function. Usually patients after ultraviolet irradiation high power can perceive at least the outlines of objects, bright light, movement of people, etc.

Blindness is either temporary or permanent in nature. To assess the degree of vision loss, it is necessary to determine the boundaries of the visual field, as well as visual acuity for each eye separately. Sometimes vision disappears suddenly, but in other cases there is a gradual decline until complete absence. To determine the degree of visual impairment, you should definitely visit an ophthalmologist and undergo an examination. Fortunately, not all types of blindness are irreversible, so it is worth starting treatment on time and hoping for a successful outcome.

In this case, vision is usually not restored in case of hemorrhage in the brain substance or damage to the fibers of the optic nerve.

Diagnostics

A person is considered blind if he lacks visual function on both sides. In this case, there may be light perception and residual vision (from 0.01 to 0.05 diopters). In this case, you can choose corrective glasses for the better-seeing eye.
A blind person cannot perceive the shape, color, size, location of objects; such patients are poorly oriented in space, as they are not able to assess distance, direction of movement and other characteristics. All this leads to a decrease sensory perception the surrounding world. Simultaneously with the fading of visual function, in this category of patients the sound perception. Such people are much easier to navigate environment by subtle sound signals. Due to blindness, the formation of movements slows down. Some blind people experience deviations in volitional and emotional spheres. Over time, the patient gets used to the new life, and blindness ceases to be perceived as painful. Instead of the visual analyzer, a person uses other ways of understanding the world around him (auditory, skin-sensory, motor and other types of perception). This helps stabilize mental processes and restore voluntary attention, generalized perception, logical memory and abstract thinking. These factors help even blind people to perceive reality correctly. When forming imaginative thinking patients are helped by ideas that have been retained in memory from the time of normal vision.

Total blindness is usually caused by damage to the optic nerve fibers, stroke, or other irreversible conditions. However, despite treatment, visual function, as a rule, cannot be restored. To improve the quality of life of blind patients, you can use various devices that are being implemented in daily life. These include books or manuals in Braille, special computer programs, some devices.

With the sudden development of blindness, a person always experiences serious emotional shock. In addition to neuroses, such patients often experience depression, so not only ophthalmologists, but also psychologists or psychotherapists should treat this category of patients.

In modern ophthalmological practice Doctors are intensively looking for ways to eliminate acquired color blindness. They are mainly aimed at eliminating the causes of the disease. Sometimes vision is restored after stopping the drug that led to such consequences.

Prevention

Often when proper treatment and timely detection of diseases, blindness can be avoided. For example, if you follow basic rules safety, the risk of developing traumatic blindness can be significantly reduced. In case of essential visual impairment, you should Special attention pay attention to your diet. In case of glaucoma, it is very important to monitor the level intraocular pressure, as this will help prevent atrophy of the optic nerve fibers.

Patients with metabolic disorders need to monitor their weight and blood sugar concentration. It would also be a good idea to refuse bad habits. This will help prevent blindness associated with diabetic retinopathy.

Due to the fact that blindness often occurs as a result of various ophthalmological diseases, it is important to regularly visit an ophthalmologist and undergo minimal examination. At the same time, it is worth choosing a clinic that employs experienced and caring specialists who are capable of early stages identify signs of the disease and carry out proper treatment.