Blind from ? help required please

[davidft]

Could someone read this entry from the 1871 census. I know it says blind from but not sure of the rest

(If it helps he was also blind on the 1861 and 1851 censuses)

thank you

[josey]

My first guess is 'from inflammation 22[?] years' 

[davidft]

Thank you Josey I will go with inflammation as it was the middle part of the word I could not make out. Much appreciated.

[RobinBClay]

If you ask our friend Google about "blind from inflammation" you will get quite a few instances, so it was a "recognised term".

Blindness (in the 1871 Census) is discussed in more detail here :-
https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/EW1871GEN/6

[davidft]

Thank you for the link I will have a look later (it is down at the moment).

I knew blindness was an occupational hazard for people working in the linen industries etc but as this person was a labourer, and then a carrier, I guess he must have caught the inflammation from a different source