Corneal Blindness is a visual impairment that occurs from the cornea becoming clouded, scarred or any other infection that ultimately affects the transparency of cornea, making a person blind. It encompasses a range of eye diseases, injuries or infections that damages the corneal tissues leading to permanent blindness. Corneal blindness can occur due to lesions affecting the cornea either in its entirety or in parts. Some of the common causes of corneal blindness are:
- Deficiency of Vitamin A
- The aftereffects or viral, fungal or bacterial infections
- Congenital disease
- Eye Trauma
- Other traditional home remedies or medicines, which often damage eye instead of relieving pain or improving vision.
The Span of Corneal blindness
According to WHO (World Health Organization), Corneal Blindness is the fourth leading cause of global blindness after cataract, glaucoma and age related macular degeneration.
Trachoma, an infectious eye disease associated with poverty and unhygienic conditions, is the leading cause of corneal blindness affecting more than 4.9 million people around the world. Among the other causes of corneal blindness, Vitamin A deficiency associated with severe malnutrition is of maximum concern. If statistics are to be believed, more than 350,000 children are blinded by Vitamin A deficiency every year. The sad fact is that majority of these children die within a year of losing their vision to corneal blindness.
Treatment of Corneal Blindness
Corneal blindness is a significant problem, treated primarily by corneal transplants! Corneal Transplant is a surgical procedure where the diseased or damaged cornea is removed and replaced by a healthy cornea from a deceased donor. However, due to the dearth of eye donors, the problem of corneal blindness in India remains largely unaddressed.
