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This site is designed and maintained by Sarah Blake and is intended to serve as a resource to help people find information about caring for their eyes, eye conditions, eyeware, and living with a visual impairment. If you would like to suggest a link, please email Sarah.
Please note: Sarah Blake is a person with a visual impairment who has studied education and rehabilitation of the visually impaired; however, the information on these pages does not constitute medical or professional advice and should not be construed as such. If you are in need of medical or professional help, please seek appropriate assistance from professionals who can interact with you personally.
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The first step in understanding an eye problem is understanding how the eye does its job. The article, "The Visual Pathway," introduces some of the structures of the eye and describes their role in the process of seeing. The article, "Normal Visual Development," describes the stages of visual development that a child goes through.
In order to keep your eyes healthy, you should have them examined regularly. The article, "20/20 is Not Enough," discusses the role of the developmental optometrist in monitoring children's visual development. The article, "Early Detection is Key to Preventing Vision Loss," provides some guidelines for timing regular exams; and the article, "The Importance of Routine Eye Care," explains why keeping the eyes healthy is important even if a person is blind.
If you do not currently have an eye doctor, the National Eye Institute's publication, "Finding an Eye Care Professional," provides some helpful suggestions. The NEI also publishes a listing of organizations that provide financial assistance for eye exams.
The key to getting good care for your eyes is good communication with your doctor. The article, "27 Tips for Getting the Most From an Eye Exam," suggests things to do before, during, and after an exam. The NEI's article, "Talking to Your Doctor," provides a list of additional questions you may want to ask.
If you have been diagnosed with an eye condition, you are likely to be able to find information about it on the Internet. Below is a listing of pages on this site that provide information and/or links to information about eye conditions.
The article, "What You Should Know About Corrective Lenses," explains how glasses and contacts work, what the numbers on your prescription mean, and what the lenses can and cannot do.
The greatest debate in the field of eye care concerns research about artificial vision. For many people, the idea of enabling a blind person to see is exciting. For others, it causes strong negative reactions. Each procedure also has risks and limitations. The article, "Myth or Miracle?: The Promise of Sight Restoration," discusses the debate and the the reactions of blind people to the research. Peter Scialli discusses the work of Dr. William Dobelle in his article, "Looking into Artificial Vision for the Blind."
Another controversy concerns the use of stem cells to treat medical conditions. The article, "What Is Stem Cell Research," summarizes the issues in this controversy.
A third debate concerns whether or not "vision stimulation" exercises should be used to help children with severe visual impairments learn to use their vision. This debate is summarized in the article, "Perspectives on Vision Stimulation." The article also provides suggestions for using vision stimulation without ignoring the use of other senses.
The low vision page provides links to articles explaining what low vision is, perspectives on living with low vision, information about low vision examinations and devices, etc.
The article, "Blindness and Visual Impairment: Information for Eye Care Professionals," discusses the needs of patients with visual impairments and ways to assist them when treatment options are limited.
Sarah J. Blake is a person with a visual impairment who has also studied blindness and eye conditions. She is not an eye care professional, and information on this site is not a substitute for face-to-face consultation with an eye care professional. This site is designed solely to assist patients and doctors in building cooperative relationships.
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