There are some eye conditions where loss of night vision is the first sign that something is wrong. Retinitis pigmentosa is one of these conditions. My friend, Norma, said that she has always had poor night vision. As a child, she simply thought that it was the way that everyone could see in the dark. A few years ago, another friend told me that while he could see moderately well in daylight, at night his sight virtually disappeared. Both Norma and George have retinitis pigmentosa and at this stage of their lives, both have no vision at all.
I have a glimmer of understanding of what
it means to be blind in the night. I don’t have RP, but my eyes take a very
long time to adjust to differences in light. If I emerge from a dark room to
one that is brightly lit, I find that I am squinting and see only vaguely
through semi closed eyelids. Conversely, if I come from bright light into a
dark space, I see almost nothing.
There are some situations where this is
very noticeable. For instance, when I come from normal lighting and enter a
dimly lit restaurant, it is as if the lights were completely turned off. The
pupils of my eyes don’t adjust and I see next to nothing. I am indeed blind in
the dark.
Another place where night blindness is an
issue is at the optometrist office. Have you ever noticed how poorly lit those
offices are? I remember one of my first visits to an ophthalmologist. I sat in
the waiting area feeling like a bit of a fraud. What was I doing here? I could
see. However, when I was shown to the examining room, the lights were seriously
dimmed and I couldn’t find my way to the chair. I knew then that I had a
problem.
Unfortunately, there is often little to be
done about night blindness. My eye condition has no cure and to date there is
no cure for retinitis pigmentosa. However, night blindness is a symptom and
sometimes a precursor of several debilitating eye conditions, some of which
might be stalled or surgically corrected. Being blind in the night is a good
reason to make an appointment with an
eye specialist. If you are experiencing night blindness, don’t put this appointment off.
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