What You Should Know About Night Blindness
If you don't see well while driving at night, there's a chance you have night blindness. Night blindness, or nyctalopia, is the inability to see well at night or in dim lighting. It's not considered an eye disease, but rather a symptom of an underlying problem. Our eye doctors at Grove City Vision Center can help diagnose, manage and treat your night blindness.
Causes of Night Blindness
The inability to see well at night can be the result of a condition such as:
- Vitamin A Deficiency — Vitamin A helps keep your cornea clear; it's also an important component of rhodopsin, a protein that enables you to see in low light conditions.
- Cataracts — A buildup of protein clouds the eye's lens, leading to impaired vision, especially at night and in poor lighting conditions.
- Diabetic Retinopathy — Damage to the eyes' blood vessels and nerves can result in vision loss, including difficulty seeing at night.
- Glaucoma — Both glaucoma and the medications used to treat it can cause night blindness.
- Myopia — Also called nearsightedness, myopia makes distant objects appear blurry, and patients with it describe a starburst effect around lights at night.
- Keratoconus — An irregularly shaped cornea causes blurred vision and may involve sensitivity to light and glare which tend to be worse at night.
- Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) — A progressive genetic eye disease which leads to night blindness and peripheral vision loss.
Symptoms of Nyctalopia
Since night blindness is a symptom of some serious vision problems, it's important to get your eyes checked regularly. Contact your eye doctor as soon as possible if you notice that you don't see as well in dim light as you used to.
Treatments for Night Blindness
Your eye doctor will want to diagnose the cause of your night blindness in order to treat it. For example, in the rare case of vitamin A deficiency, it can be treated with vitamin supplements; myopia can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses. Other conditions may require medications or surgery.
If you experience poor vision at night or in dim lighting, we can help. Contact Grove City Vision Center in Grove City to schedule your appointment today.