Questions and debates about blindness:

Hear Again said:
this is due to the eye disease that they have. for example, blind people who have congenital cataracts can have eyes that look very opaque. i happen to have juvenile cataracts that i was born with and i've been told by all of my opthalmologists that they make my eyes look as if they have a cloudy film over them although for the most part they are clear.
Click to expand...

You also have ROP. Does ROP and cateracts often exist together?

I've heard their was a link between glycoma and cateracts.
 
dreama,

rop isn't responsible for making my eyes look opaque. if i only had rop, my eyes would look just like any other sighted person's eyes -- the only difference being that most people with rop also have a scar over one eye and/or forehead as i do. (i have a scar on my forehead and above my left eye.)
 
Hear Again said:
dreama,

rop isn't responsible for making my eyes look opaque. if i only had rop, my eyes would look just like any other sighted person's eyes -- the only difference being that most people with rop also have a scar over one eye and/or forehead as i do. (i have a scar on my forehead and above my left eye.)
Click to expand...

From surgery, is that correct?
 
some people with mild rop do not have surgery. surgery is usually limited to those who have moderate or severe cases. (mine was a stage 5 which is considered the most severe.)
 
society's_child,

as far as the scar is concerned (above my left eye), i'm not sure how to describe it. it's almost as if my left eye is set in my head deeper than my right eye and there is a bump just above it. does that make sense?
 
Hear Again said:
society's_child,

as far as the scar is concerned (above my left eye), i'm not sure how to describe it. it's almost as if my left eye is set in my head deeper than my right eye and there is a bump just above it. does that make sense?
Click to expand...

Actually, it does.
 
Hear Again said:
yes, they do. i know alot of people with rop who also have juvenile or adult cataracts. it's not unheard of at all.
Click to expand...

That's interesting.

If someone has both cateracts and ROP does it increase that person's chance of being totally blind?

I heard that people with ROP used to be blind more often but then they lowered the oxygen level. There was an apademic of people blinded from ROP I think.
 
dreama said:
That's interesting.

If someone has both cateracts and ROP does it increase that person's chance of being totally blind?

I heard that people with ROP used to be blind more often but then they lowered the oxygen level. There was an apademic of people blinded from ROP I think.
Click to expand...

yes. there was an epidemic of rop back in the 1950s which is when many infants became totally blind as a result.

however, this lessened between the 60s and 70s. due to my extremely low birth weight (2 pounds), this is what was partially responsible for my total blindness.

rop isn't progressive, so if a person has rop as well as cataracts and loses their vision partially or totally, it is strictly due to cataracts with the exception of vision that was already impaired because of rop.
 
Hear Again said:
rop isn't progressive, so if a person has rop as well as cataracts and loses their vision partially or totally, it is strictly due to cataracts with the exception of vision that was already impaired because of rop.
Click to expand...

I was refering to congenital cateracts. I presume that is what you had? Is it likely to have increased your chances of being totally blind?

Was the appedemic of blindness in 50's entirely due to oxygen levels or were their other factors besides?
 
dreama said:
I was refering to congenital cateracts. I presume that is what you had? Is it likely to have increased your chances of being totally blind?

Was the appedemic of blindness in 50's entirely due to oxygen levels or were their other factors besides?
Click to expand...

the epidemic of rop in the 1950s was strictly due to high oxygen levels administered to premature infants since little was known about its' effects on the eyes.

i have congenital cataracts, but do not know how much of a part they played in my total blindness. my current opthalmologist (whom i've been seeing for the past 4 years) says that it's possible my cataracts didn't blind me, but the fact that they existed didn't help matters either. instead, they created an opaque film over my eyes. she feels that what actually played a larger part in blinding me was rop due to my retinas being fully detached.
 
Back
Top