MAY NEWSLETTER No. 348
Guide Dogs and the Beano team up to create comic for visually impaired children
The comic, which features classic Beano characters and real-world children, is available from May 1.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/guide-dogs-sutton-coldfield-west-midlands-b2537526.html
How To Avoid These 3 Types of Age-Related Vision Loss
A list of the most common causes of age-related blindness and what can be done. Includes cataracts, age-related macula degeneration and glaucoma.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/heres-how-to-avoid-these-3-types-of-age-related-vision-loss
'Gamer's Eye' that one in four people suffer from
Anyone who is subjected to long periods of screen time needs to be aware of the condition.
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/health/worrying-new-condition-gamers-eye-9243538
Report finds blind and visually impaired are three times more likely to experience loneliness
The Fight for Sight/Vision Foundation report found 76% of blind and visually impaired respondents felt lonely some or all of the time, compared with 25% of the general population.
DWP could pay people with sight loss conditions up to £434 a month
Attendance Allowance is designed to help people of State Pension age with daily living expenses. Three in four people with a visual impairment are aged over 65, with around 8,000 working age people registered blind or partially sighted. For adults that lose their sight in later life, it can be very distressing as they feel they are no longer able to enjoy some of the activities they love to do, such as driving, taking part in sports, reading and cooking. The latest DWP figures show that in August 2023 there were 47,333 people receiving either £68.10 or £101.75 each week for a ‘Visual Disorder or Disease’. There are over 45 eye conditions affecting adults across the country, including: cataract, myopia, macula degeneration. Glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa and diabetic retinopathy.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/dwp-could-pay-people-sight-29049456
Share the Vision webinar
The next StV webinar will be on 7 May, 10-11am – and it’s free!
Further details and booking via Eventbrite, see: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/share-the-vision-is-braille-still-relevant-tickets-837519462257?aff=oddtdtcreator
Budgets to support visually impaired children slashed by councils
More than half of local authorities have cut or frozen the number of specialist teachers they employ to support children with visual impairments, according to new research.
Eye infections might seem like a minor complaint – but in some cases they can cause blindness and even death
When you think of eye infections, what comes to mind? Puffy, swollen bruised feeling eyelids that get glued together with gunk overnight? That feeling of having grit in your eye that can’t be cleaned away? Eye infections may seem like a relatively minor – if unsightly and inconvenient – complaint, but they can also be far more serious.https://theconversation.com/eye-infections-might-seem-like-a-minor-complaint-but-in-some-cases-they-can-cause-blindness-and-even-death-227252?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20April%2012%202024%20-%202934329811&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20April%2012%202024%20-%202934329811+CID_9ac6918edacb0222fbe81c034aadca20&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Eye%20infections%20might%20seem%20like%20a%20minor%20complaint%20%20but%20in%20some%20cases%20they%20can%20cause%20blindness%20and%20even%20death
How your vision can predict dementia 12 years before it is diagnosed – new study
One of the key findings is that visual issues may be an early indicator of cognitive decline as the toxic amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease may first affect areas of the brain associated with vision, with parts of the brain associated with memory becoming damaged as the disease progresses. So vision tests may find deficits before memory tests do.
How to Prevent Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration, or age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a form of vision loss that affects your ability to see things in the center of your vision. Some people a higher risk of developing AMD. This includes those with a family history of the condition, people who have obesity, and people who smoke. While there’s no way to reverse or completely stop macular degeneration, there are ways to prevent or slow its progression.
https://www.health.com/macular-degeneration-prevention-8580455