Night Blindness (Nyctalopia): Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Trouble seeing in low light is common, especially with age. However, if your nighttime vision seems to be getting progressively worse, or if you find you can’t see at all, you could be suffering from a condition called nyctalopia or night blindness.

Night blindness is typically caused by underlying issues with your eye structure and how it collects and refracts light. Some of these issues can be corrected to improve your night vision. If you suffer from night blindness, seeking treatment is essential so that the cause of your issues doesn’t affect your daytime vision.

The team at Pair has the info and expertise you need to manage your night blindness, including what causes it and what you can do to start seeing in the dark.

How Does Night Vision Work?

Night vision requires some measure of light. If you’re in total darkness, there is no light to send to the retina, so it can’t change any light it collects into electrical signals. These signals are what your brain uses to produce vision.

In low-light situations, your iris (the colored portion of your eye) uses specialized muscles to expand your pupil, allowing more light to come in. This collected light is then transferred to the retina.

Inside the retina are two types of photoreceptor cells: cones and rods. Cone cells are responsible for color vision and fine detail, like seeing individual hairs on an animal instead of just a ball of fluff. Meanwhile, rod cells control vision in dim light. There are more rod cells than cone cells in the retina.

If there’s an issue with your pupil, iris, or retina, you may experience night blindness.

What’s Going on Inside Your Eyes?

The causes of night blindness are typically related to issues with the retina and iris. If the muscles of the iris do not expand and contract correctly, they won’t be able to collect enough light to send to the retina. If no light reaches the retina, your retinal cells cannot transmit that light to your brain through the optic nerve.

It’s worth noting that retinal cells do not regenerate. Once they have been damaged, a portion of your vision may be lost permanently. If the retinal cells responsible for nighttime vision are damaged, you may permanently experience some issues.

How To Tell if You Have Nyctalopia

You may not know you have nyctalopia if the changes to your vision happen slowly. Over time, however, you may realize that your ability to see in low light has diminished. It’s important to get your vision checked, as lack of vision in low light can make driving at night and other activities extremely dangerous.

Symptoms of nyctalopia include:

• Difficulty seeing objects at night
• Changes in vision while driving in dim light or at nighttime
• Needing more light to see objects like your smartphone or television at night
• Feeling like you don’t have clear vision unless you’re in extremely bright light

If you have symptoms of nyctalopia, seeing your eye doctor is essential. Determining the cause of your night blindness is also crucial to correcting it.

What Causes Night Vision Problems?

There are several common causes of night blindness. But first, it’s important to note that astigmatism is not the same as night blindness, though they are easily confused.

Astigmatism is a problem with the shape of your cornea that causes light to focus incorrectly on the retina. This causes blurry vision and the appearance of halos or starbursts around lights at night. Astigmatism is easily corrected with prescription eyeglasses.

Night blindness makes it impossible to see objects in low light. They become extremely blurry or not visible at all. Some of the underlying causes of this impairment can be corrected, but others cannot. Your ophthalmologist is the best person to inform you of all your options based on the cause:

Age

The risk of certain eye diseases increases with age. Macular degeneration, for instance, usually appears in adults over 60. With age, visual acuity also changes. Adults who once had perfect eyesight may notice changes in near and far vision. Presbyopia, a condition that affects near vision, happens to every person over time.

While conditions like nearsightedness (myopia) and farsightedness (hyperopia) can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses, these solutions don’t always provide relief from night blindness.

Cataracts

Vision changes with age, as does the structure of your eye. One notable change is the development of cataracts, which cause your lens to appear white and foggy. Cataracts can interfere with vision during the daytime and at night.

Laser Vision Correction Surgery

If you’ve had Lasik surgery, you may experience a temporary issue with night blindness. This usually goes away on its own once your eye has a chance to heal properly.

Glaucoma

People with glaucoma often report vision issues at night. Glaucoma causes vision loss during the day and night. It causes fluid to build in the eye, placing pressure on the optic nerve.

Vitamin A Deficiency

It’s rare, but a vitamin deficiency can also be responsible for eye conditions like night blindness. While vitamin deficiencies aren’t common, a person may still have an underlying condition that makes it hard for their body to absorb vitamin A. One example is someone who has undergone certain types of weight loss surgery.

Without enough vitamin A, nighttime vision (and total vision) will suffer.

Genetic Conditions

Sometimes, night blindness is caused by underlying conditions that you’re born with. Examples include retinitis pigmentosa or congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB). These root causes may be impossible to cure, but you can take steps to ensure you see better in low-light conditions.

How to Treat Night Blindness

The first step in treating night blindness is to see your healthcare provider or eye doctor. They can help you determine the root cause of your vision loss. Your healthcare provider can also run labs to check for vitamin deficiencies.

Your eye doctor, meanwhile, can administer a complete eye exam to measure your eye health and determine if you have a retinal disease, such as retinopathy, or another underlying issue that could be causing vision loss.

Both cataracts and glaucoma can be treated with surgical intervention and medication. Vitamin deficiencies can be corrected with supplements. Genetic disorders may have no cure, but you can still take steps to ensure proper eye care, like receiving regular vision exams, wearing UV protective eyewear, and protecting against dry eyes.

What Complications Can Result From Lack of Treatment?

If you don’t treat your night blindness, you may eventually notice an effect on your daytime vision. Both cataracts and glaucoma affect daytime and nighttime vision, so seeking treatment can help you prevent issues that could develop later on.

How Else Can You Keep Your Eyes Healthy?

Sometimes, night blindness can be prevented. If you’re at risk of vitamin A deficiency, taking a supplement can help you avoid further eye-related issues. Ensuring you wear the proper prescription is also essential, and you should go for an eye exam once per year. If you have known eye conditions or diseases, your eye doctor may suggest more frequent check-ups.

Wearing UV protective lenses outdoors or whenever you’re exposed to UV light is also vital to help prevent damage to your retina. UV light passes through the cornea to the retina, potentially damaging retinal cells.

Additionally, if you spend a lot of time in front of a blue-light screen, wearing blue-light glasses is a smart way to keep your eyes healthy. Blue light comes from screens like tablets, smartphones, and televisions, but also from the sun. This light can also reach the retina, harming your cells.

Blue light filtering lenses help keep your eyes safe and may also help you get a better night of sleep.

Light Up the Night

Nighttime vision can worsen with age or due to underlying illness. Sometimes, night blindness occurs because of genetic issues that can’t be controlled.

The first step in correcting night blindness is getting an eye exam. Once you know the underlying cause of night blindness, you can take the appropriate steps to correct it.

If your forecast calls for corrective lenses, come visit us at Pair. Our eyewear collection gives you unlimited possibilities to show off your style while keeping your eyes safe and your vision clear.

Sources:

Night Blindness (Nyctalopia): What It Is, Causes & Treatment | Cleveland Clinic

Lab-grown eye cells form new neural connections | nih.gov

What Is Astigmatism? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment | American Academy of Ophthalmology

Night Vision After LASIK: What You Need to Know | Washington University in St. Louis