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Blindness



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Fri May 23, 2008 2:37 pm
Azila says...



Hi all!

I'm thinking of having a (main) character who's blind. So I just wanted to learn all you guys happen to know about blindness: what can cause it, especially. I'm thinking that he went blind when he was ten or so, so he wasn't born that way.

I might not end up writing this, but I thought there would be no harm in learning anyway. :)

~Azila~
  





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Thu May 29, 2008 9:26 pm
wwjnd says...



What Can Cause Blindness? He could stare at the sun for a long time... He could be forced to stare at the sun... Look up blindness on wikipedia it'll help ya out
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Thu May 29, 2008 9:43 pm
Snoink says...



Chemicals? Accidentally sprayed on his eye?
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Fri May 30, 2008 9:31 am
Heidigirl666 says...



Blindness that isn't acquired at birth tends to be disease or injury. If it's an injury, it doesn't necessarily have to be to his eyes, it could be a head injury for example.

Diseases would be things like meningitis, which can cause damage to the optic nerve if there's enough swelling to the brain.
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Fri May 30, 2008 7:17 pm
JFW1415 says...



Eh, I'm not much help here, but I did read a book with the main character becoming blind. A fire cracker went off in front of his eyes. When they took off the bandages, he didn't believe that they were off, since he couldn't see.

~JFW1415

Edit: I just remembered the title of the book: Follow My Leader.
  





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Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:50 pm
Rei says...



Yeah, if you're going for an illness, menengitis is probably the way to go. Or another possibility is some kind of brain tumour. Is there anything particular you want to know about living as a blind person?
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Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:13 am
Shafter says...



Some random stuff about blindness:
My mom was reading Little House on the Prairie to my sister today. Mary Ingalls went blind from scarlett fever, and lost it slowly. Just a thought.
Our landlord is blind, too. He lost his sight later in life, and can still do things like weeding the garden, fixing the plumbing, and even roofing. It just depends on how much muscle memory a person has.
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Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:16 am
kris says...



I was Temporarily blind for just over 4 months, two years ago. When a coca-cola bottle exploded when i shook it up - the cap flew up rupturing my cornea in my left eye, some plastic splinters also pierced my tear duct (so no major damage) but anyway - i was completely blind for 4 months and partially so for another 2.
It is not fun.
Unlike people who are blinded at an early age or born blind - you have none of the extra keen senses hehehe :P
So will your main character be born blind? or Blinded?...best make him born blind or else he will not make for an exciting person. I'll tell you that :D
  





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Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:59 pm
patience_isnt says...



A cataract is common, and I found some information for it.

What is cataract?

Cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens - the part of the eye responsible for focusing light and producing clear, sharp images.
The lens is made up mainly of water and protein. Over time, protein can build up, clouding the light passing through the eye and making sight blurred or fuzzy. For most people, cataracts are a natural result of aging.
Often cataracts develop in both eyes at the same time. The symptoms vary, but include a gradual blurring of vision, halos around lights, glare and double vision. The very worst cataracts - where the iris appears almost entirely clouded over - can cause a total loss of vision.

Causes of cataract

There is no single cause of cataract (the clouding of the eye's lens). A number of risk factors seem to have an impact. There are some risks that can be reduced by a change in lifestyle, and some that can't. Sightsavers is raising awareness of the risks, and providing treatment where possible.
Risks that can be reduced:
cigarette smoking
drugs: some eye drops used to treat eye problems contain steroids. If unsupervised and taken over a long time, they can cause cataracts.
diabetes: proper treatment can reduce the risk of cataract
dehydration: people who have suffered severe dehydration seem more likely to suffer from cataract. This can result from severe illness (such as cholera), acute heat stroke or even from local customs such as withholding water from women during labour and immediately after giving birth.
Risks that can't be reduced:
ageing - the single-most important cause of cataract
genetic predisposition- in 25-50 per cent of cases there is a family history of cataract
eye conditions such as short sightedness and inflammation in the eye seem to be linked to cataract. Severe trauma to the eye can also be a cause.
environmental factors - cataract occurs more often and at an earlier age in developing countries
daylight - some controversially believe ultraviolet light worsens cataract. This is unproven and impossible to combat if true.

Hope I helped!

P.S.-- If you need more information, just Google 'Causes of Blindness'. You'll find tons of information.
  





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Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:46 pm
Fishr says...



Completely blind? I am not. Legally blind? Not yet.

My vision is very poor, though friends and family keep reminding me that others have pooer eyesight than I. (I still beg to differ). Anyway, I'm very near-sighted. An object has to be less than six inches from my nose in order for me to read/see it correctly and clearly.

My point?

It just depends on how much muscle memory a person has.


A person doesn't have to be completely blind to awknowledge when one sense goes or isn't top notch, others chime in, and I can attest that when I began to lose my sight at just four years old, maybe younger, that quote holds strong truth. I wear glasses but believe it or not, I don't rely on them for accuracy. Rather, my hearing and touch are more senseative, especially the hearing, provided I'm not zoning out. Also, while my vision deteriates greatly at night, (we're talking a loss of an extra 20%), in my house, without glasses I van move around quite well because I have a mental map formed. At night, I might as well be considered partially blind because truthfully all that I see is swirls of objects, shadows and some reflections of light bouncing off different objects - which actually is good with the light bouncing effect. I have an idea where, say, that miserable chair is, and I won't crash into it.

Once a person begins to lose their sight, we, or least me, I stopped relying on it again for accuracy sake. With my glasses off, I've been told I look like a deer in headlights. I guess I just give off a very blank stare. The reason for this is that I've learned to not focus on anything when they are off. What would be the point? Focusing on anything to see it would only give me headaches. So, I tend to relex my eyes, though now and days it seems like an automatic reaction, and thus the "deer and headlights" is presented.

Yep.
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Sat Jul 12, 2008 10:59 pm
gamechanger10 says...



actually, earlier in June I finished writing a book about someone that was blind--although the way she became blind involved alchemy.
disease is probably the most believable way to go--depending on the story--of course.
however, you could always do the ol' stabbed myself in the eye with a pencil thing. people at schools actually believe that kind of stuff for excuses for being late...not that i would know...*wink*
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Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:05 pm
Azila says...



Thanks for all the advise, people! Like I dais, I'm not even sure I'll end up writing this -- but it's nice to learn what y'all know.

gamechanger10 >> I love your siggy! I had that quote in my own signature for awhils.

Thanks again, everyone.
~Azila~
  





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Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:11 am
gyrfalcon says...



I realize I may be a little late here, but I have a main character in my story who went blind when he was about ten (injury). I've read a few books with blind characters and seen the odd TV episode or such about it, but I was still really nervous about writing him. A few things I always try to keep in mind while I'm writing from his perspective: 1) The fear--imagine how terrifying it would be to live in darkness. Even though he adapts very quickly, he never entirely forgets what a disadvantage he's at. 2) This is an easy one, just remember to never describe how something looks when you're writing from a blind character's perspective. You'd be surprised what a difference it can make, both in how you perceive your character's world and how your readers connect with that character. Want someone to nod or curtsy? Describe the sound. Want to tell your readers that someone's just entered the room? Recognize their smell or walk or both. 3) Regularly walk around with your eyes closed. Seriously. It always works when I'm trying to get into my character's mindset.

Hope this helps!
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Fri Jul 18, 2008 9:06 pm
Azila says...



Thanks, Gyr! I actually was thinking of doing this partially as an exercise in writing using only non-visual senses.

I still might do it, actually -- and I think he/she may have a seeing eye dog... *thinking*

~Azila~
  





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Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:31 am
Rei says...



Another thing to consider is that you could describe what things look like, just not in the way you would otherwise. I had a blind friend in college. She was born blind and didn't even have an optic nerve. However, she did have a visual imagination. And if your character could see at one point, s/he will have the memories of being able to see.
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