What causes Night Blindness?

The term night blindness may paint a picture of an individual’s inability to see at night. This is incorrect. Night blindness is technically referred to asnyctalopia, and is regarded as a visual impairment. People who battle this impairment experience poor vision in dimly lit rooms or at night. Some causes of night blindness are treated below.

1. Cataracts:-

Cataracts are basically described as debris that builds up on the lens of the eye. This buildup is attributed to the turnover of cells over the entire lifetime of an eye. Cataracts are painless, but they are progressive. It goes without saying that such a buildup will eventually impair vision, and one manifestation of this is poor night vision.

2. Vitamin A Deficiency:-

Vitamin A is the life blood of the retina.

 It is found in carrots and green vegetables, and in its absence, the retina becomes unhealthy. In developed countries, vitamin A deficiency is attributed to the inability of the body to absorb vitamin A from the gastro intestinal tract due to diseases such as celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, etc.

3. Zinc Deficiency:-

Zinc combines with vitamin A in the eye to ensure that the retina remains healthy. 

One of the richest sources of zinc is bananas. When one doesn’t include zinc in their diet, then they are courting poor night vision, or as called night blindness.

4. Retinitis Pigmentosa:-

This is a rare genetic disorder that normally afflicts young people who are below 30 years. It is marked by a progressive loss of sight although those it afflicts retain some degree of sight. The first symptom that an individual could be battling this condition is worsening night vision.

5. Diabetes:-

This is a prime cause of poor night vision because of the increased levels of sugar in the blood stream. 

This is toxic to the blood vessels and nerves in the eye. The major casualty of this buildup in the eye is the retina. One indication that the retina could be taking a beating from the body battling diabetes is poor night vision and the long duration it takes the eye to readjust to changes in light after coming outdoors from bright light.