With over 7.5 billion people across the globe, we don’t all see the world in the same way as others. In fact, according to WHO, at least 1 billion of us have a near or distance visual impairment, which is a staggering 1 in 7 people.
Keeping this in mind, Lenstore wants to raise awareness of some of the globe’s most common eye conditions and allow users to experience what it’s like to see some of the greatest sights on the planet through a different lens. Including colour deficiency, glaucoma, night blindness, tunnel vision, macular degeneration and cataracts, how different does the world look through another pair of eyes?
The interactive tool allows users to switch between seven iconic city landscapes presented in 360 images and provides a drop down menu where users can select the eye condition they want to visualise. Combined, this provides a full interactive experience for users, showing them what it’s like to see the world through some of these common vision conditions.
Colour deficiency: Deuteranopia
Colour deficiency affects 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women across the world, and for people with this condition, it means that identifying and distinguishing between certain colours can be challenging. The most common type of colour deficiency is Deuteranopia, used in the image above, and occurs when it is difficult to distinguish between the colours red and green.
Tunnel vision
This eye condition is the deterioration or complete loss of peripheral vision, whilst your central vision remains intact. As a result, you may only be able to see things through a small circle in front of your eyes, as if you were looking through a tunnel.
Tunnel vision can be caused by a variety of factors, some being more serious than others. These include damage to your retina and optic nerve which could be a sign of glaucoma, or damage to the brain. Tunnel vision can also emerge temporarily under extreme levels of stress, panic and anger, and is as a result of producing high levels of adrenaline.
Night blindness
Also known as Nyctalopia, this eye condition is a result of your eyes being unable to adapt to low-light conditions. Whilst this will have little impact during the day, this eye condition can make simple activities such as driving and even popping to the toilet in the night a lot more challenging. The image above shows just how difficult it can be to see with this condition.
Cataracts
Cataracts is a common eye condition that sees the lens inside your eye develop cloudy patches, which as a result can cause your sight to become blurry, and can even cause total blindness eventually. Whilst the condition can affect babies and young children, it more commonly develops with age as our lenses move from being clear to becoming more frosted, and can make simple tasks such as driving extremely difficult. Cataracts can also be caused by excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes, and a family history of the condition.
Eye floaters
Many of us will have experienced temporary eye floaters during our lifetime, with them often appearing as black or grey specks drifting around as you move your eye or try to look at them directly. Whilst eye floaters are common, they can also be a sign of another condition, and if your symptoms increase persist or affect your vision any further it is important to consult your doctor or optometrist.
Roshni Patel from Lenstore comments: "It’s great to raise awareness around some of the world’s most common eye conditions, and create a visual and interactive tool so people can really experience what it’s like to see the world from another perspective. These eye conditions all vary in their symptoms, causes and treatment and it’s important for individuals to become more aware of their eye health to spot if anything different in their vision.
Many of these eye conditions can be treated effectively to help reduce symptoms if detected by a doctor or optometrist at an early stage. We hope this tool will therefore not only help people visualise the world from another perspective, but also highlight some of the key signs to watch out for."
Tags: Lenstore
