Night blindness – also known as night blindness or noctalopia – is a condition associated with impaired vision. People with night blindness experience poor vision in low or dim light conditions. Some types of night blindness are treatable, some are not.
Night blindness – symptoms
Main a symptom of night blindness is difficulty seeing in the dark. Affected people night blindness eyesight especially deteriorates when moving from a bright to a dark environment. This can take place outside the time of night – it is enough for a person from the light court to enter a darkened bar or basement. A particularly troublesome symptom night blindness jest poor visibility of the road when driving at night, when we are alternately blinded by lights and we have to see what is happening on the darkened road.
Night blindness – causes
Do causes of night blindness there are many dysfunctional conditions of our eyes, including:
- short-sightedness or blurred visibility when looking at distant objects
- degenerative eye disease in the form of cataracts,
- Retinitis pigmentosa, causing tunneled (narrowed) vision, caused by a build-up of black pigment on the retina of the eye
- Usher syndrome, which is a genetic condition.
Older people are more likely to develop cataracts, and therefore seniors are more likely to suffer night blindness because of this degenerative eye disease than young people.
In rare cases night blindness is caused by a deficiency of vitamin A, which is missing – despite its common presence in food – in a given diet. Vitamin A, also called retinol, plays an important role in turning nerve impulses into images on the retina, which is the light-sensitive organ at the back of our eye.
People suffering from pancreatic insufficiency (caused by, for example, cystic fibrosis) have difficulty absorbing fats, which makes them at particular risk of deficiency of vitamin A, which is soluble in fats. This makes them especially prone to ailments night blindness.
Do you have recurrent conjunctivitis? Has your eyesight deteriorated recently? Make an appointment for a fundus examination at Medonet Market to find out the cause of the problem as soon as possible and implement appropriate treatment.
Night blindness – treatment
Effective leczenie night blindness requires a correct diagnosis of the underlying causes. For this purpose, the ophthalmologist will check the condition of the patient’s eye and may order blood tests to detect the level of vitamin A and glucose.
Night blindness caused by myopia, cataracts or vitamin A deficiency are treatable. Myopia is typically treated with corrective lenses to improve visibility both at night and during the day. Cataracts require treatment surgery, thanks to which the cloudy areas of the eye lens will be removed and replaced with artificial lenses. After cataract surgery, symptoms night blindness caused by it are usually significantly weakened or completely regressed. Vitamin A deficiencies treated are customarily via supplementation.
Do you need quick advice from an ophthalmologist? Make an e-visit on the haloDoctor platform. The doctor will talk to you at any time you choose.
Causes of night blindness genetically related factors, such as retinitis pigmentosa, are not treatable. There is no medical treatment that can reduce the pigment build-up around the retina.