Night Blindness

Night blindness (nyctalopia) is your inability to see well at night or in poor light such
as in a restaurant or movie theater. It is often associated with an inability to quickly
adapt from a well-illuminated to a poorly illuminated environment. It is not a disease
in itself but rather a symptom of an underlying eye problem usually a retina problem. It
is common for people who are myopic to have some difficulties with night vision, but
this is not due to retinal disease but rather optical issues. Your eyes are constantly
adjusting to light. When you’re in low or no light, your pupils will get bigger so that
more light will enter your eye. That light is then received by the retina tissue in the
back of your eye that houses all of the rod and cone cells. Cone cells help you see
color. Rod cells help you see in the dark. When those rods are not working well
because of a disease, injury, or condition you can’t see as well or at all in the dark.
Treatment for your night blindness depends on the cause. Treatment may be as simple
as getting yourself a new eyeglass prescription or switching glaucoma medications, or
it may require surgery if the night blindness is caused by cataracts. If you have a retinal
disease, the treatment will depend on the type of the disease and will require additional
investigation by a retina specialist.