Overview 

Your vision is one of your most important senses. Your vision allows you to be independent.

Vision impairment is defined as a visually impaired person’s eyesight cannot be corrected to a “normal level”.

It may be said that visual impairment is the functional limitation of the eye or eyes or the vision system. This leads to 

• Loss of visual acuity and inability of the person to see objects as clearly as a healthy person

• Loss of visual field meaning inability of an individual to see as wide an area as the average person without moving the eyes or turning the head.

• Photophobia – inability to look at light

• Diplopia – double vision

• Visual distortion or distortion of images

• Visual perceptual difficulties or difficulties of perception

• Or any combination of the above features

Symptoms

Some of these symptoms come on gradually, and some come on suddenly.

• Double vision

• Blurry vision

• Seeing flashes of light

• Seeing floaters or “spider webs”

• Seeing halos or rainbows around lights

• Seeing what looks like a curtain coming down over one eye

• A sudden decrease in vision

• Sudden sensitivity to light and glare

• Sudden eye pain

• Itching or burning eyes

• Red eyes

• White areas in the pupil

• Changes in the color of your eye