Damage to your sight and eyes can severely impact everyday life. Damage to sight can come from direct trauma to your eyes or face, trauma to the head, or from contamination by a substance such as cleaning products. The disturbance to your vision may leave you with partial or full blindness in one or both eyes which may be temporary or permanent.
Trauma to the eye can vary from minor discomfort to permanent blindness. The most common types of eye damage include:
- Blurred vision
- Temporary blindness
- Permanent blindness
- Vision that deteriorates over time
- Eye pain
You may have suffered sight and eye damage due to:
- An assault
- A road traffic accident
- Head trauma
- Chemical contamination
- Debris
- Sharp objects
- Electrical shock
- Medical negligence
- Laser eye surgery
The effects of sight and eye damage can be devastating. Common effects include:
- Pain and discomfort.
- Temporary sight loss – causing inconvenience and loss of earnings due to needing to take time off work to recover.
- Permanent sight loss – If your sight loss is permanent, then you will have to adapt and this may include learning Braille, making alterations to your home e.g. installing handrails etc., and perhaps learning to use a guide dog.
It is likely you will not be able to continue in your present occupation and you may need to consider a different career which may involve re-training. You will not be able to drive and will be reliant on other people or public transport.