Here are the answers to some of the most common questions we're asked by journalists. It's definitely not an exhaustive list so feel free to look around the rest of the website for more information. To make this easier for you we've put some useful links on the right hand side.
Alternatively, if you're a journalist or have a media query you can always contact the media relations team directly on 0207 739 2221 or via email at pressoffice@rnib.org.uk
What are the four main causes of blindness in the UK?
The four main causes of blindness in the UK are:
What is the difference between blindness and partial sight?
Blindness is a substantial and permanent lack of sight. A person can be registered blind if he or she can only just read the top letter of the optician's eye chart at a distance of three metres or less. This level of visual acuity is known as 3/60 vision.
Partial sight is a less severe loss of vision. A person can register as partially sighted if he or she can only see the top letter of the eye test chart at a distance of six metres or less.This level of visual acuity is known as 6/60 vision.
In both cases, people may be registered with a better level of vision if their fields of view are affected. Many people do not realise that only a few blind people (25 per cent) see nothing at all. A minority of people can distinguish light but nothing else, some people have no central vision, others have no side vision and some see everything as a vague blur or a patchwork of blanks and defined areas.
Could you provide more information about how blind and partially sighted people live with blindness?
One in two people with sight loss have never received a visit at home from any professional or voluntary body since they lost their sight.
Sixty per cent of people with sight loss are not offered the training they need to be able to move around the house or outside.
Seventy-six per cent of people with sight loss say they get out of the house never, rarely or less than before they lost their sight.
One in five people with sight loss are never able to go out by themselves.
To what extent is sight loss avoidable in the UK?
Around 50 percent of sight loss in the UK is avoidable or treatable. For example: right now as many as 250,000 people in the UK risk losing their sight simply because they don't know they have glaucoma.
Most of us don't understand enough about our eye health or the lifestyle choices we make which can have a massive impact on our eye health. Simply knowing that giving up smoking and keeping our weight within a healthy range will give us all the best chance of safeguarding our sight and in some cases half a person's chances of developing a sight condition that could lead to blindness.