Clinically, in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa, the eye, specifically, the cone cell is affected. In a patient with retinitis pigmentosa, the symptom starts with often childhood, starting with the loss of night vision and gradual loss of peripheral vision and then the loss of central vision, ending in complete blindness usually around 30 to 40
In a less clinical sense, the patients of retinitis pigmentosa are aware of their potential to become blind through one or both of their parents and other family members because they have other family members that have a similar disease, there is an expectation that the patient will go through life with a similar sight loss pattern as that for their parents. From the description that the patients give on how it feels to have the disease, the sight is mostly light and dark with very little details. Another description is that their vision is slowly being smudged by vaseline, or it’s like wearing a pair of sunglasses in the dark. The onset of symptoms often start with childhood, but the symptoms can manifest at a later life stage. Similarly, while it is common that the patients would be completely blind by 40, it is not unheard of for people to retain vision until their 80s. The decrease in vision and later, complete loss of a vision is a major disability and often results in the patients unable to do certain jobs and for those who do not have complete blindness, patients often pause before telling their bosses and managers about their condition, fearing repercussion. While most patient’s vision will degrade to the point where they are unable to drive, because it is a progressive disease, the patients are aware that this will happen, and that they may have to use walking stick eventually. The patients also have a harder time adjusting their sense of self compared to those that were born blind.
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