She Blinded Me with Science Trivia Quiz

Answer: Blind people cannot live full lives

There are a number of programs and organizations dedicated to helping the visually impaired. These are in the areas of sports, communication and home aids. All of these programs strive to improve the lives of blind people and increase their independence.

Blindness rates are decreasing worldwide in younger people mostly because of increased awareness, better eye-health practices and an effort to treat those with blindness. However, blindness rates are increasing worldwide. Blindness is coming in older people and as people live longer, the blindness rate increases. Diabetes and obesity rates are increasing, both of which can contribute to eye problems.

Most cases of blindness are in people in developing nations where the health care system is inadequate and lacks the means to treat even basic eye problems. Some of the most common causes of blindness are injuries and exposure to chemicals, which is also a problem in these same places.

Most cases of blindness are preventable with proper health practices or treatable before the condition develops too far. Often, blindness cannot be cured completely but can be improved or temporarily reversed. Diagnosis is noninvasive and can be done via a simple eye examination which includes reading a Snellen chart.

Answer: False

Being blind or visually impaired means that one's eyesight has reduced ability to the point where basic actions and interactions are more difficult than they would be to someone with optimum eyesight. In addition, blindness or visual impairment cannot be corrected by simply wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses.

The exact standard for determining blindness varies from place to place. In the United States, it is determined by having eyesight that cannot be improved above 20/200.

Answer: A condition where light does not focus properly on the retina

A refractive or reflection error simply means that light cannot focus in the eye's retina. This can cause a number of issues including nearsightedness and farsightedness. Nearsightedness occurs when the retina is too curved, causing the light to bounce around too much. Farsightedness is caused when the retina is too flat and the light does not reflect properly.

Answer: Red

One of the universal symbols of blindness is a long, foldable white cane with a red tip. Visually impaired people will use their cane to search the area around them to look for obstacles in their path. These canes and guide dogs give visually impaired people increased mobility they might not have otherwise.

Answer: A disorder of the circadian rhythms

Non-24 hour sleep-wake disorder, or simply Non-24, is a disorder of the body's biological clock that often causes those afflicted to fall asleep and wake up at unusual hours. People who are totally blind cannot perceive light at all and light helps regulate the circadian rhythms and sleep cycles. Non-24 typically only effects those who are totally blind as those who can see, even somewhat, can still detect light. Non-24 is estimated to effect well over half of all people who are totally blind.

Answer: Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis, or pink eye, rarely leads to any permanent loss of sight, although vision may be decreased while effected. Extremely rare cases of untreated pink eye may cause some permanent damage.

Cataracts are cloudings of the eye lens. Anyone can get cataracts but is more common among older people. However, children affected by cataracts, who have undergone surgery to remove them, may still experience blindness because cataracts often prevent the eyes from developing. Visual impairment can also come from injuries to the eye such as being hit directly or, rarely, from poisons like methanol or formaldehyde.

Answer: Genetically

Stargardt disease is a condition affecting children that causes them to lose the ability to see details. Objects often appear blurry and undefined. They may also see spots, have blind spots, be colorblind and lack peripheral vision. None of these symptoms can be corrected and there is no cure or effective treatment.

The disease is progressive and usually starts while a child is in his or her teen years or even younger.

Answer: To prevent cheating

Snellen charts are more or less standardized with the first row a big E and the second row a smaller F and P and so on. It is easy for people, especially children who don't want to wear glasses, to study the chart before the test and just repeat the letters when asked to do so.

Snellen charts are slowly being replaced with the digital LogMAR chart. The letters on the LogMAR chart can be randomized to prevent cheating. The letters can also appear at an angle and varying sizes throughout the chart, giving the doctor a more accurate idea of what a patient can and cannot see.

Answer: Eyelid

Trachoma is a bacterial infection that causes the eyelids to be rough which in turn irritates the corneas and will eventually lead to blindness if not treated or if someone has trachoma multiple times. Another complication of trachoma is that, if severe enough, the eyelid will begin to turn itself inward, causing further discomfort. Trachoma is prominent in Africa and other places where clean water is scarce.

Answer: True

This is called diabetic retinopathy. An increase in blood sugar in the body damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina, causing them to leak and disrupting vision. Pregnant women with diabetes are very susceptible to diabetic retinopathy. Those with Down Syndrome and diabetes are not susceptible to it because of increased protein levels in the blood.