Night Blindness

Night blindness is a condition in which a person has difficulty seeing in the dark or in dimly lit areas. It is also referred to as nyctalopia, which means “night blindness” in Greek. In medical terms, night blindness is an impairment of the eyes’ ability to adjust to darkness and to see at night or in dim light. Night blindness is caused by a lack of the visual pigment rhodopsin in the rods of the retina. Rhodopsin is necessary for the rods to detect light in low-light or night-time conditions. Without rhodopsin, the rods are unable to detect light and the person is unable to see properly in the dark. Night blindness can be caused by a number of different factors, including inherited conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, or cataracts; certain medications; or certain vitamin A deficiencies. Treatment for night blindness may include lifestyle changes, such as avoiding bright lights at night and wearing sunglasses in bright sunlight; or dietary changes, such as increasing the amount of foods rich in vitamin A. In some cases, corrective lenses may be prescribed.