Blindness Essay -- essays research papers fc

The term blindness implies total or partial loss of vision involving both eyes. The exact level of vision defined as blindness, however, varies in different countries because of differing legal or social requirements. In the United States, blindness is defined as unimprovable vision of 20/200 (6/60) or worse. This means that an individual is generally considered blind who, even with the use of ordinary eyeglasses, can see no better at 20 ft (6 m) than a person with normal vision can see at 200 ft (60 m). On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) Program Advisory Group on the Prevention of Blindness lists the vision level suggested as blindness as a visual acuity of less than 10/200 (3/60), which is twice as low as the U.S. definition. The WHO level of visual acuity is also described as the inability to count fingers in daylight at a distance of 10 ft (3 m), because in many regions a great number of people cannot receive formal eye examinations but may be tested by unspecialized personnel. From data available in the mid-1980s, the number of persons worldwide who have a visual acuity of less than 10/200 is estimated as 28 million. This level of handicap precludes an individual from functioning effectively in the community without special assistance and rehabilitation (see BLIND, EDUCATION OF THE). Were the definition of blindness instead taken as 20/200, as is done in a number of industrialized countries besides the United States, t... Blindness Essay -- essays research papers fc The term blindness implies total or partial loss of vision involving both eyes. The exact level of vision defined as blindness, however, varies in different countries because of differing legal or social requirements. In the United States, blindness is defined as unimprovable vision of 20/200 (6/60) or worse. This means that an individual is generally considered blind who, even with the use of ordinary eyeglasses, can see no better at 20 ft (6 m) than a person with normal vision can see at 200 ft (60 m). On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) Program Advisory Group on the Prevention of Blindness lists the vision level suggested as blindness as a visual acuity of less than 10/200 (3/60), which is twice as low as the U.S. definition. The WHO level of visual acuity is also described as the inability to count fingers in daylight at a distance of 10 ft (3 m), because in many regions a great number of people cannot receive formal eye examinations but may be tested by unspecialized personnel. From data available in the mid-1980s, the number of persons worldwide who have a visual acuity of less than 10/200 is estimated as 28 million. This level of handicap precludes an individual from functioning effectively in the community without special assistance and rehabilitation (see BLIND, EDUCATION OF THE). Were the definition of blindness instead taken as 20/200, as is done in a number of industrialized countries besides the United States, t...