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am I legally blind? (self.Blind)
submitted by Letitia_Heights
my last prescription was 4 years ago and I know for sure it’s worse, but it says
Sphere. CYL. Axis
R/D. -5.250 -.250 155
L/G -5.250 -.250 12
DIST. PD/PD Dist.
ADD : R/D 30.0
L/G. 29.0
Sphere. CYL. Axis
R/D. -5.250 -.250 155
L/G -5.250 -.250 12
DIST. PD/PD Dist.
ADD : R/D 30.0
L/G. 29.0
Tarnagona 11 points 2y ago
I’m not sure where you’re from, and definitions for legal blindness may vary by country. That said, here in Canada (and I believe, in the US, also), legal blindness is not determined by the strength of your prescription, but on your corrected visual acuity, ie what you can see when wearing corrective lenses. A visual acuity of 20/200 or less is legal blindness. That is, you see at 20 feet away, the same amount of detail a sighted person sees at 200 feet away. Or, put another way, you have 10% vision, or less.
SpikeTheCookie 9 points 2y ago
This is correct. So with glasses, if your corrected vision is at 20/200 or worse, then that meets the US definition of Legal Blindness. But also there's a field of vision criteria. So you could have 20/20 vision but a fields of vision that is less than 20 degrees, and you would be considered legally blind.
_-_-Anonymous-_-_ 2 points 2y ago
I could have seorj it was 20/400?? I must be going crazy
Tarnagona 1 points 2y ago
Well, like I said, it depends on the country. So it might be 20/400 where you’re from. It’s definitely 20/200 here.
_-_-Anonymous-_-_ 2 points 2y ago
Im canadian too so I just got mixed up :) I think its because its been so long since I have anything less that 20/400 I just lost track (am 20/600 now and light perception in my other eye)
Tarnagona 2 points 2y ago
Yeah, I’m very sighted for a blind person at 20/200, so I guess it makes it easier to remember for me. :)
brimstone_tea 2 points 2y ago
Where I live (Germany) it's <2% vision.
LibraryGeek 3 points 2y ago
Blindness is measured by how you see \*with\* any correction. Thus, you may have 20:100 vision w/o glasses but if glasses get you better than that then you're not legally blind. I'm in a weird grey area where I'm not legally blind in one eye but it's too bad to drive even with glasses.
[deleted] 1 points 2y ago
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TwinPurpleEagle 3 points 2y ago
As other posters have said, it depends on your visual acuity. Mine is less than 20/200, yet my glasses prescription is a whopping -22.00 diopters (Sphere) for both the OD (right eye) and OS (left eye). So I'm not legally blind yet. (My acuity is 20/100 currently but it will definitely get worse as I grow older.)
charliesdesk 2 points 2y ago
You can’t tell by a prescription for spectacles. If you are wondering ask your eyecare provider. Legally blind is vision no better than 20/200 in the better eye with the best correction possible or a visual field less then 20 degrees (tunnel vision)
[deleted] 1 points 2y ago
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LibraryGeek 1 points 2y ago
This is information to make your glasses. What you need to know is your results *with* correction. If you can be corrected to normal 20/20 you're not legally blind. I think in the US you're legally blind if your vision is 20/100 or worse *with* correction..(if my details are off feel free to correct me. But I do know the key is what you see with your glasses on.
macadamia_owl 1 points 2y ago
It can't be told from glass lenses prescription alone it doesn't matter much what glasses you wear but how your vision is. This information is not here.
Sphere is lens power, cyl cylinder is to correct astigmatism and other irregular shapes of eyeball. Axis is informations for optican how to place and build glass lens correctly for best effect.
Those are just numbers for optican how to make new glasses not telling anything about how your vision is.
Sphere is lens power, cyl cylinder is to correct astigmatism and other irregular shapes of eyeball. Axis is informations for optican how to place and build glass lens correctly for best effect.
Those are just numbers for optican how to make new glasses not telling anything about how your vision is.
[deleted] 1 points 2y ago
[removed]
BlakeBlues 1 points 2y ago
Similar to what everyone has said, you can't you a script to determine sight. Some people who are legally blind have very minimal prescriptions for glasses because a more significant script doesn't help them.
With your glasses, I can tell you have an astigmatism. I can tell you are nearsighted, and I can tell the strength of your lenses, but that doesn't tell me how well you are with them on or with them off.
With your glasses, I can tell you have an astigmatism. I can tell you are nearsighted, and I can tell the strength of your lenses, but that doesn't tell me how well you are with them on or with them off.
Letitia_Heights [OP] 2 points 2y ago
without glasses i can’t see a tv screen, my phone is about 10 inches from my face to be able to see and text. with glasses i still don’t feel like i’m able to see as well as i should. this is an older script and i know it’s gotten worse and one eye is worse. i’m in canada, need to see an optometrist but also what type of disability or help i can receive if i am
BlakeBlues 1 points 2y ago
These are all very good questions! Get ready for a bit of reading, and let me know if you have other questions!
I want to answer and also give you a personal comparison as someone who is at the threshold of being legally blind. To start, an updated prescription is going to help! As we get older (starting around 40 y/o), the lenses of our eyes harden, which makes it harder to focus on things. This is called presbyopia. Going to the eye doc will likely also mean you get screened for cataracts (the lenses of the eyes will start getting cloudy, this starts to happen around 40-60 y/o). They are common and treatable!
As vision gets worse, hobbies may become harder, but the goal is to help keep them! And know that even totally blind adults function very capably. You likely have very little chance to go completely blind I imagine, so that shouldn't be any concern.
If you find out your vision has gotten worse to the point that you have a harder time cooking, watching TV, getting to work etc, there are supports. First, we can look into magnification or larger print or fonts. We can also look into if a pair of glasses will help for distance viewing, like TV, and another pair for reading or things closeup, like cooking or fine cleaning.
And if you're vision has gotten to the point where you meet the requirements for legal blindness, or if you feel like you want more support or answers, there are vision rehabilitation services in Canada. These people will likely do additional assessments to see how you use your vision because an optometrist or ophthalmologist really just assesses your vision in a closed area and not how you get around and use your vision. After assessments, they will be able to offer supports similar to what I listed above, like magnifiers and different types of glasses etc, and they will look at how your excitingly is currently setup and if they can do anything to help improve lighting and your ability to focus on what you need. Further, these services can extend into work, where they can help find solutions for things that are getting more visually challenging.
https://www.cfb.ca/ and https://www.cnib.ca/ are the two resources I know off hand. https://www.visionlossrehab.ca/en is the link for rehab services that I know of.
My acuity is roughly 20/200 ft or 6/60 m, which means with best correction, I see something at 20 ft away with the same clarity as someone with 20/20 acuity would see it from 200 ft away. I hope my phone about 3-5 inches from my face, and I can recognize someone's face from about 5 ft away. Some of this is due to the environment, how large I can make the text on my phone, and how I use my vision (if I'm tired, it's worse; if I read too much print, my eyes hurt)
I want to answer and also give you a personal comparison as someone who is at the threshold of being legally blind. To start, an updated prescription is going to help! As we get older (starting around 40 y/o), the lenses of our eyes harden, which makes it harder to focus on things. This is called presbyopia. Going to the eye doc will likely also mean you get screened for cataracts (the lenses of the eyes will start getting cloudy, this starts to happen around 40-60 y/o). They are common and treatable!
As vision gets worse, hobbies may become harder, but the goal is to help keep them! And know that even totally blind adults function very capably. You likely have very little chance to go completely blind I imagine, so that shouldn't be any concern.
If you find out your vision has gotten worse to the point that you have a harder time cooking, watching TV, getting to work etc, there are supports. First, we can look into magnification or larger print or fonts. We can also look into if a pair of glasses will help for distance viewing, like TV, and another pair for reading or things closeup, like cooking or fine cleaning.
And if you're vision has gotten to the point where you meet the requirements for legal blindness, or if you feel like you want more support or answers, there are vision rehabilitation services in Canada. These people will likely do additional assessments to see how you use your vision because an optometrist or ophthalmologist really just assesses your vision in a closed area and not how you get around and use your vision. After assessments, they will be able to offer supports similar to what I listed above, like magnifiers and different types of glasses etc, and they will look at how your excitingly is currently setup and if they can do anything to help improve lighting and your ability to focus on what you need. Further, these services can extend into work, where they can help find solutions for things that are getting more visually challenging.
https://www.cfb.ca/ and https://www.cnib.ca/ are the two resources I know off hand. https://www.visionlossrehab.ca/en is the link for rehab services that I know of.
My acuity is roughly 20/200 ft or 6/60 m, which means with best correction, I see something at 20 ft away with the same clarity as someone with 20/20 acuity would see it from 200 ft away. I hope my phone about 3-5 inches from my face, and I can recognize someone's face from about 5 ft away. Some of this is due to the environment, how large I can make the text on my phone, and how I use my vision (if I'm tired, it's worse; if I read too much print, my eyes hurt)
Letitia_Heights [OP] 2 points 2y ago
thanks for an actual thoughtful and on topic reply with great advice
BlakeBlues 1 points 2y ago
Best of luck upcoming! You can also message me if you have more questions!
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