Can’t See in the Dark? Know the Symptoms of Night Blindness
Night blindness, also known as nyctalopia, is the inability of the eye to adjust to low-light settings, such as at night.
Night blindness is not a condition in itself but rather the effect of an underlying eye issue.
Usually, eyes adjust in low light, at night, or in dark spaces. But night blindness doesn’t allow clear vision to people. Although, it doesn’t mean that the person is completely blind.
However, it can be troublesome for people with this issue to perform tasks like driving.
Low light conditions are the most common cause of accidents and may account for up to 80% of bike or pedestrian fatalities.
One-third of 300 Canadian research respondents between 15 and 25 reported nighttime vision loss, with almost half unaware of the issue.
Night blindness is a symptom of some underlying conditions, which may have several causes.
This article will discuss symptoms, potential causes, and treatments for night blindness.
Night blindness symptoms
As we understood, night blindness is a symptom of eye conditions that eventually leads to vision loss in dim light.
A study suggests that night blindness has some special characteristics.
To identify night blindness, the American Academy of Ophthalmology suggests a few questions for people:
- Are they facing difficulty while driving at night?
- Is it difficult for them to move into the house in dim light?
- Is it tricky to recognize faces in dim light?
- Does it take longer than usual to adjust in dim light after a bright one?
There may be additional symptoms associated with night blindness.
Depending on the underlying reason, the nature of these symptoms may include the following:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Eye pain
- Sensitivity to light
- Blurry or cloudy vision
- Difficulty seeing into the distance
Potential causes
Night blindness is the outcome of one of several conditions, and most of them are treatable.
Some of the potential causes are:
Vitamin A deficiency
Vitamin A in your diet is an essential nutrient for your vision.
Night blindness (difficulty or inability to see in relatively low light) is one of the clinical indications of vitamin A insufficiency, and it is frequent during pregnancy in developing nations.
Retinol is the predominant form of vitamin A circulating in blood and plasma. Serum retinol levels represent vitamin A reserves in the liver when significantly deficient or excessively replete.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a series of eye disorders in which injury to the optic nerve results in increased intraocular pressure.
This may cause permanent eyesight impairment.
Myopia
People with myopia, often known as nearsightedness, cannot perceive distant objects.
This occurs when the eye becomes excessively lengthy and can no longer focus light correctly.
Cataracts
When eye lenses become blurry, it is a sign of cataracts.
It happens when proteins that are present in the lens break down due to aging. Clouding vision can be problematic in dim lights.
The blurry lens restricts the amount of light that can be received by the eyes, which causes vision issues during the dark.
Although cataracts are treatable, replacing the eye’s natural clouded lens with a clear artificial one restores good vision and eliminate night blindness.
Retinitis pigmentosa
This a cluster of eye diseases that are known for damaging your retina.
Moreover, it is a genetic disorder that brings difficulty with vision in dim light.
Typically, the first sign of retinitis pigmentosa is a loss of night vision that manifests in childhood.
Treatment
Night blindness treatment varies according to the cause.
Treatment can range from wearing specific types of contact lenses or glasses, which will help you in supporting the correct vision.
Sunglasses protect you from ultraviolet light, which can cause further eye damage.
Vitamin A deficiency is treated by increasing the amount of vitamin A in the diet. These foods are good sources of vitamin A:
- Fortified cereals
- Eggs
- Fortified milk
- Cod liver oil
- Orange and yellow vegetables and fruits
- Dark, leafy green vegetables
Conclusion
With this article, we know that the condition of night blindness depends on the underlying cause.
Some of them were vitamin A deficiency, nearsightedness, Glaucoma, and many more.
Although, these causes have several treatments. These are simple and be practiced at home by changing the lifestyle or diet or getting new pain glasses.
If these things are practiced seriously, it can improve your night vision and other symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the signs of night blindness?
People with night blindness have an issue seeing stars in a clear sky or walking in a dark room, like a movie theater. This problem occurs especially when people go to dark space immediately after brightness.
What are the signs and symptoms of night blindness?
Some symptoms of night blindness are headaches, nausea, eye pain, sensitivity to light, blurry or cloudy vision, and difficulty seeing in the distance.
What are the symptoms of congenital stationary night blindness?
Patients with CSNB may experience night or low-light vision impairments. These symptoms are frequently subjective and may go unnoticed by those who reside in well-lit cities.
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