Animals known for his or her excellent night vision include owls, cats, tarsiers (a small primate native to Southeast Asia) – and even dung beetles.
But humans? Not a lot.
Over time, many individuals develop night blindness, also often called nyctalopia. This condition makes it difficult to see in dim or dark environments because your eyes cannot adjust to changes in brightness or detect light.
What are the risks for those experiencing night blindness?
Night blindness is very troublesome and dangerous when driving. Your eyes may not adjust between darkness and the headlights of oncoming vehicles, other cars may appear out of focus, and your depth perception is impaired, making it difficult to evaluate distances.
What happens in the attention to cause night blindness?
The ability to see in low-light conditions involves two structures in the attention: the retina and the iris.
The retina, positioned behind the attention, incorporates two kinds of light-detecting cells called cones and rods. Cones handle color vision and superb details, while rods handle vision in dim light.
The iris is the coloured a part of your eye. It has muscles that widen or narrow the opening of your pupil to regulate how much light can enter your eye.
If your irises don't react properly, the pupils can dilate and let in an excessive amount of light, which causes light sensitivity and makes it difficult to see in shiny light. Or your pupils may stay too small and never let in enough light, making it difficult to see in low light.
What causes night blindness?
Night blindness just isn't a disease but a symptom of other conditions. “It's like a wound on your body. Something else causes it,” says Dr. Deakins.
Many conditions could cause night blindness. For example, medications, equivalent to antidepressants, antihistamines, and antipsychotics, can affect the scale of the pupil and the way much light enters the attention.
Eye conditions that could cause night blindness include:
- Glaucoma, a disease that damages the attention's optic nerve and blood vessels.
- Cataracts, cloudy areas within the lens that distort or block the passage of sunshine through the lens
- Dry eye syndrome.
However, one issue that increases the chance of night blindness that you just cannot control is age. “Our eyes react more slowly to changes in light as we age, and vision naturally declines over time,” says Dr. Dickens. “The number of rods in our eyes decreases, the pupils become smaller, and the muscles of the irises weaken.”
What helps if you've gotten night blindness?
If you experience any symptoms of night blindness, avoid driving and get checked by an eye fixed care specialist equivalent to an optometrist or ophthalmologist. An eye exam can determine in case your eyeglass prescription must be updated.
“Often a change in prescription is enough to reduce glare when driving at night,” says Dr. Deakins. “You may also need separate glasses with a stronger eye prescription that you only wear when driving at night.”
Adding an anti-reflective coating to your lenses may also help reduce the glare from oncoming automotive headlights. However, skip the over-the-counter polarized driving glasses sold at many drugstores. “These can help reduce glare, but they don't address the causes of night blindness,” says Dr. Dickens.
An eye exam can even discover glaucoma or cataracts, which might be treated. Treatments for glaucoma include eye drops, laser treatment, or surgery. Cataracts are corrected by surgery to exchange the cloudy lens with a synthetic lens. Your eye care skilled can even help discover and prescribe treatments for dry eye.
Ask your primary care clinician or pharmacist if the medications you are taking could cause night blindness. If so, it is feasible to regulate the dose or switch to a different drug.
Three more ways to make night driving safer
You can even take steps to make night driving safer. For example:
- Wash your glasses lenses recurrently. And take them to an optician to have minor scratches removed.
- Keep either side of your front and rear windshields clear so you'll be able to see as clearly as possible.
- Dim your dashboard lights, which create glare, and use an evening setting in your rearview mirror.