Incredible interactive street-view lets you see what it’s like to have glaucoma, cataracts or retinopathy

It’s hard to imagine the world through someone else’s eyes.

But a new, interactive street-view map gives you a glimpse.

See Now, a non-profit organization, has created a simulator that lets you see how someone with glaucoma, cataracts or retinopathy – three debilitating vision loss conditions – views the world.

The map, the first of its kind, gives you the option select the lens you want to look through as you move around the street.

You can also adjust the severity of the condition.

‘The simulator is one way to bring attention to these problems so someone with normal vision can type in their home address and see how more challenging it is to see what you see on a daily basis,’ Jeff Todd, the COO and vice president of partner organization Prevent Blindess, told Daily Mail Online.

Someone with cataracts has blurry vision because the eye’s natural lens has been clouded. Clicking on this option shows a fuzzy-looking street.

With glaucoma, the street view is bright in some areas and darker in others – this is because the optic nerve has been damaged.

If you suffer from retinopathy, blood vessels near the back of your eye have been damaged. The map shows vision with spots or dark strings floating in your ocular view.

‘We not only hope that this encourages people to join our campaign, but also that someone seeing this thinks, “Oh, I haven’t seen my eye doctor in five years. I should schedule an appointment”,’ Todd said.

GLAUCOMA 

Glaucoma strips sufferers of eyesight by damaging the optic nerve.

There is no known cause to the condition that affects about 2.7 million Americans.

There are two main types of glaucoma:

OPEN-ANGLE GLAUCOMA

The drain structure in your eye (the trabecular meshwork) looks normal, but fluid doesn’t drain as it should.

It is a progressive condition and the most common cause of irreversible blindness worldwide.

Symptoms: 

• There are no real symptoms until very late
• Occasionally patients will lose some peripheral vision
• However, that comes shortly before total vision loss

ACUTE ANGLE-CLOSURE GLAUCOMA 

The angle is closed in most areas of the eye, causing increased pressure and can lead to optic nerve damage and vision loss.

The pressure can come on suddenly or gradually.

Considered a true ophthalmic emergency, a delay in treatment can result in blindness.

Symptoms: 

• Hazy or blurred vision
• The appearance of rainbow-colored circles around bright lights
• Severe eye and head pain
• Nausea or vomiting (accompanying severe eye pain)
• Sudden sight loss

CATARACTS 

Cataracts are a clouding of the eye’s natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil.

One of the most common eye troubles, 24.4 million Americans suffer from cataracts.

More than half of all Americans have cataracts by the time they are 80 years old.

There are three main types:

SUBCAPSULAR CATARACT

This cataract occurs at the back of the lens. People with diabetes or those taking high doses of steroid medications have a greater risk of developing a subcapsular cataract.

NUCLEAR CATARACT

Forming deep in the central zone (nucleus) of the lens, nuclear cataracts usually are associated with aging.

CORTICAL CATARACT

Characterized by white, wedge-like opacities that start in the periphery of the lens, these cataracts work their way to the center in a spoke-like fashion.

It occurs in the lens cortex, which is the part of the lens that surrounds the central nucleus.

Symptoms:

• Vision that’s cloudy, blurry, foggy, or filmy
• Nearsightedness (in older people)
• Changes in the way you see color
• Problems driving at night (glare from oncoming headlights, for example)
• Problems with glare during the day
• Double vision in the affected eye
• Trouble with eyeglasses or contact lenses not working well

RETINOPATHY 

Retinopathy is a persistent or an acute damage to the retina of the eye.

Damage occurs to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.

A manifestation from diabetes, Diabetic Retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness that afflicts 7.7 million Americans.

The condition can develop in anyone who has type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop this eye complication.

Symptoms:

• Spots or dark strings floating in your vision (floaters)
• Blurred vision
• Fluctuating vision
• Impaired color vision
• Dark or empty areas in your vision
• Vision loss