Night Blindness also termed as ‘Nyctalopia is a kind of impairment of vision. In environments that are lit dimly and at night, the person experiences poor vision. The term night blindness indicates that the person experiences difficulty while driving and seeing in darkness.
Night blindness of some types can be treated while others cannot. The underlying cause of impairment in vision must be determined by the doctor. Once the cause is identified, proper steps towards vision correction can be taken.
Symptoms of Night Blindness include difficulty in seeing in the dark. When eyes transit to a low light area from a brightly lit environment, the person is likely to experience night blindness. Due to intermittent brightness of road streetlights and headlights, while driving, poor vision is experienced by a person suffering from night blindness.
Night Blindness is caused by a number of eye conditions including eye lens clouding, blurred vision while looking at objects faraway, Usher syndrome. near-sightedness and retinitis pigmentosa. As compared to young adults and children, adults are more likely to develop cataract leading to Night Blindness. Deficiency of Vitamin A also called retinol could cause Night Blindness. People having pancreatic insufficiency, diabetes, high levels of sugar and blood glucose have risk of developing Night Blindness.
Night Blindness is treated by the doctor by studying medical history of the patient in detail, examining the eyes for diagnosing Night Blindness and taking blood samples. Contacts and eyeglasses are corrective lenses given to the patient to improve nearsighted vision during night and day time, both. Cataracts, the clouded portion of the eye lens is surgically removed and replaced with an artificial clear lens. After the surgery, significant improvement is seen in Night Blindness, if the underlying cause is cataracts. Vitamin supplements are advised by the doctor if level of Vitamin A is low. Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic condition causing Night Blindness cannot be treated. Avoiding driving during night time is the best way to avoid difficulty.
Night Blindness can be prevented by eating balanced diet and monitoring levels of blood sugar properly, so that the disease is less likely to occur. Cataracts can be prevented by eating mineral, vitamin and antioxidant enriched foods. Night Blindness can be reduced by consuming certain orange colored foods high in Vitamin A like mangoes, carrots, cantaloupes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, collard greens, eggs, milk and spinach can be helpful.
