Some quick statistics about sight impairment...

100 people every day? 25,000 children? 50% of sight of sight loss is avoidable?

According to the RNIB, every day in the UK another 100 people start to lose their sight—so sight problems are far more common than many people think. About two million people in the UK have significant sight loss. Most people with sight problems are older people, aged 65 or above, but many are also younger. About 25,000 children experience sight problems and around 12,000 of these also have other disabilities. In older people, over 50% of sight problems are estimated to be due to untreated refractive error or cataracts.

You may be unaware of just how poorly other people can see because most people experiencing sight loss try to hide their difficulties. (In Stepping Into The Dark David Lucas talks about this in detail.) What is particularly shocking is that many conditions are preventable or treatable… RNIB research suggests that over 50% of sight problems in older people in the UK could be corrected by the correct prescription of glasses or contact lenses, or by cataract surgery.

Less than 10% of 'blind' people can see nothing at all...

Recently, the Department of Health changed the terminology for registering sight problems so people are no longer labeled ‘blind’. (In fact, of the people who were formerly registered ‘blind’ less than 10% can actually see nothing at all. Most have some awareness of light or dark, or some degree of vision.) Now, with the new terminology in place, ophthalmologists decide if people are ‘severely sight impaired’ (which was formerly ‘registered blind’) or ‘sight impaired’ (formerly ‘partially sighted’). ‘Sight impairment’ (as opposed to ‘severe sight impairment) means that a person can only read the top letter of the eye chart from six metres away or less.

364,615 people registered as severely sight impaired (blind) in the UK

At the end of March 2006 there were 364,615 people registered as severely sight impaired (blind) or sight impaired (partially sighted) in the UK. Based on their research and enquiries, the RNIB are sure a larger group of people also have significant sight loss, without falling into either of these categories. Every day another 100 people start to lose their sight. (This figure is based on the average number of people each day who registered as severely sight impaired or sight impaired in Britain in 2003.)

Increasingly sight impairment is due to obesity or diabetes...

Although 70% of sight impaired people have other disabilities or long term health problems (in addition to their sight loss), there is growing evidence that obesity and diabetes causes sight loss—so this percentage is expected to change if obesity continues to rise.

So as to diagnose and correct any correctable eye problems, the RNIB recommends that all adults have an eye test every 2 years. Problems can exist even before the person affected notices any change in sight—so it’s worth going for a check-up!

Find out more in the book Stepping Into The Dark.