# Ray Charles' Blindness

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-blindness/317454>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 17, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-blindness/317454 "2005-08-17T17:11:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-blindness/317454/1 "2005-08-17T17:11:55Z")

</div>

I was watching _Ray_, which depicts Charles as a young child suffering a progressive, degenerating condition leading to blindness. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_charles) lists the probable cause as glaucoma. The movie shows a gradual loss of detail and narrowing of visual field (consistent with certain types of glaucoma); it also shows other symptoms (tearing, itching). A few questions:

Do we know for certain that his condition was glaucoma?

Why the tears and itching, and are they common symptoms of glaucoma?

It appears from the film that in adulthood, his eyelids were more or less closed all the time: did he have to keep them closed (could he open his eyes as an adult?) or did they permanently close themselves, and if so, why?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-blindness/317454/2 "2005-08-17T17:28:23Z")

</div>

I don’t know if tear, itching, etc. are symptomatic of glaucoma, but he told Terri Gross on “Fresh Air” that that’s what he suffered from. There was no medical treatment available for poor blacks in the FL town where he grew up, but he did end up going to a state school for the handicapped.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-charles-blindness/317454/3 "2005-08-17T17:34:52Z")

</div>

According to this his blindness was likely caused by Trachoma but admits there is no definitive answer on this (for instance Ray Charles did PSAs for the Glaucoma Foundation).

> [@](#):
>
> The movie “Ray” depicts a classic clinical presentation of a different disease called “trachoma”, an infectious disease found in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions with limited access to water.
> 
> _\<snip\>_
> 
> Trachoma is most likely the cause of Charles’ blindness as childhood glaucoma is exceptionally rare. The clinical portrayal in the movie is accurate for trachoma with the chronic irritated eyes discharging pus. Glaucoma usually does not cause pain or irritation and certainly no discharge.
> 
> SOURCE:[http://drinkthis.typepad.com/answer\_this/ray\_charles\_blindness/](http://drinkthis.typepad.com/answer_this/ray_charles_blindness/)