Austins Best Optometrist
 
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Night blindness or nyctalopia, is a common observable eye problem. Nyctalopia causes the person to have difficulty seeing at night or in cases where there is poor lighting. Normally, the rod cell that is found in our eye’s retina is responsible for helping us to see during nighttime or poor lighting. However in nyctalopia, there is a problem in the rod cells which are responsible for night vision. This eye condition can be a result of a genetic problem, eye injuries, malnutrition, or as a complication of another existing eye problem.

A person with night blindness may have several symptoms that are suggestive of this disorder. These symptoms are blurry vision, dry eyes, tired eyes, and difficulty seeing in poor light. These symptoms can place a person in a dangerous situation especially at night where there is difficulty in visualization. A person with this disorder can also have a greatly reduced contrast vision and can cause difficulties in crossing a pedestrian street with poor lighting. Since it takes more time for the person with nyctalopia to adjust from a well-lit room to a dimly-lit room, it is best to stay with that person for a while to avoid accidents of falls and injuries. Also, persons with night blindness should never be permitted to drive because of the dangers of accidents especially during nighttime. And if the person wants to read a book, an extra light can be very helpful. Watching of television can also cause the eyes to also tire faster.

Nyctalopia commonly occurs when the rod cells of the retina is unable to quickly respond to light. The loss of the rod cells’ capacity to respond to light occurs gradually in persons with progressive nyctalopia or what we call retinitis pigmentosa wherein there is an optic atrophy of the optic nerve.  Retinol or vitamin A deficiency can also lead to night blindness wherein it results to a disorder to the retina and making the eyes to become very dry. Cataracts can also contribute to night blindness because of the opacity in the lens of the eye causes difficulty for light to pass through the lens. Also, an untreated myopia or nearsightedness and glaucoma medications can lead to nyctalopia.

When symptoms of night blindness occurs, you must visit your Austin optometrist for an eye examination so that necessary steps can be taken for the improvement of vision. And during extreme cases, your local Austin optometrist can make the necessary referrals to other specialists for possibility of surgery in an attempt to save your vision. 




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    Barrett Hayes

    I am an Optometrist here in USA. I have my own optical clinic in our place I do eye examination, such as refraction and contact lens fitting.

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