CATARACT 5,3% BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE A cataract is a clouding of the lens in your eye and normally occurs as part of the ageing process. When you develop a cataract, light is unable to pass directly through your lens to the retina, resulting in blurred vision.

GLAUCOMA 10,7% OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to your eye's optic nerve and gets worse over time. It's often associated with a build up of pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY 3,2% OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE Diabetic retinopathy can lead to poor vision and even blindness. Most of the time, it gets worse over many years. At first, the blood vessels in the eye get weak. This can lead to blood and other liquid leaking into the retina from the blood vessels. If the fluid leaks into the canter of your eye, you may have blurry vision.

STROKE Every year an estimated 150,000 people in the UK suffer from a stroke. Stroke is the most common cause of adult disability. Visual problems are more common in people who have suffered a stroke affecting the right side of their brain. The damage the stroke does in the brain impacts the visual pathways of the eye which can result in visual field loss, blurry vision, double vision and moving images. When stroke affects the areas of the brain that processes the information we see, it can cause 'visual neglect' (lack of awareness to one half of the body or space) as well as difficulties with judging depth and movement. In a few cases, visual problems caused by stroke can improve on their own with time.

MACULAR DEGENERATION 47,6% OF BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE Macular degeneration is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people over age 60. It occurs when the small central portion of the retina, known as the macula, deteriorates. The retina is the light-sensing nerve tissue at the back of the eye. It can be a source of significant visual disability.