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Night blindness, also known as nyctalopia, is a type of vision impairment that makes it difficult to read or see in dim light or at night. It is not a disease itself, but rather a symptom of an underlying medical condition. Although the name suggests blindness during the night, it usually means difficulty in reading or driving in a dusky environment, which can happen any time during the day.

Difficulty to see in a dark room is usually normal but in nyctalopia, it is more strenuous. It can even prevent you from pointing out the stars in the night sky. Night blindness may make it difficult to recognize faces or locate obstacles in a dimly-lit room. Your vision could also take longer than usual to adjust to the transition from darkness to bright light.

Causes of night blindness

Night blindness may be caused by a variety of underlying causes including the following:

Treatment for night blindness

It is important to know the exact cause of the condition for an appropriate intervention to be planned. The treatment for nyctalopia may vary from simply getting a new pair of prescription glasses or switching glaucoma medications to surgery if the cause is cataracts.

A proper balance diet may also be advised if the condition is caused due to a dietary imbalance. Vitamin and mineral requirements may be fulfilled by supplementation, depending on your doctors recommendation. If a retinal disease is discovered, the treatment will be carried out by an ophthalmologist depending on the type and severity of the condition.

Unfortunately, treatment of genetic conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa and Usher syndrome that cause nyctalopia are yet to be developed.

Prevention and precautions

There is no way to prevent night blindness when it is caused by genetic conditions or birth defects. However, in the case of other causes, you can take the following measures to reduce the risk of developing the condition:

For more information, read our article on Night Blindness.

Health articles on News18 are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.

Link:
Nyctalopia: All You Need to Know About Night Blindness - News18

This entry was posted on December 16, 2020 at 1:53 am and is filed under Blindness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |