What causes sudden night blindness?

Written by Wang Hui Zhen
Ophthalmology
Updated on December 31, 2024
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There are many causes of sudden night blindness. Night blindness refers to blurry vision or even complete inability to see in low-light conditions such as nighttime, possibly even leading to difficulties in movement.

Night blindness can be categorized into congenital, acquired, and temporary types. Congenital night blindness is mostly related to genetic factors, where the patient is born with a deficiency in synthesizing rhodopsin, leading to night blindness. Temporary night blindness is often due to a lack of Vitamin A in the diet, or due to some digestive system diseases that affect the absorption of Vitamin A. Acquired night blindness is usually caused by diseases of the retina or the eye itself.

Therefore, if sudden night blindness occurs, it is recommended to go to a reputable hospital's ophthalmology department for comprehensive examinations such as visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit lamp, dilated fundus examination, and if necessary, further tests like fundus fluorescein angiography to identify the cause and provide targeted treatment.

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Written by Li Zhuo
Ophthalmology
1min 23sec home-news-image

Can people with night blindness undergo myopia surgery?

Night blindness is mostly due to abnormalities in the retinal pigment epithelial cells, because when these cells are abnormal, it leads to abnormalities in the rod cells, which sometimes leads to night blindness. This is because rod cells are responsible for seeing in low light, proving that this refractive system’s weakness is akin to a camera’s film being damaged. In the case of performing surgery for nearsightedness, it is primarily because there's an issue with the eye’s refractive system, similar to having a damaged camera lens. While a damaged lens can be repaired, if the film is faulty, even a perfectly repaired lens won't improve the camera's imaging function. Thus, night blindness primarily involves the retina, whereas surgery for nearsightedness mainly involves the lens and cornea. If the retina's condition is poor, then vision improvement from nearsightedness surgery will be limited because the effectiveness of such surgery relies on the pre-surgery vision achievable with glasses. If vision with glasses is inadequate, the surgical outcomes tend to be suboptimal. Generally, we do not recommend laser surgery for patients with night blindness.

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Written by Li Zhuo
Ophthalmology
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Causes of Night Blindness

Night blindness generally falls into two categories. The first type is due to a deficiency in Vitamin A, which leads to abnormal metabolism of retinol, preventing the perception of low light and thus causing symptoms of night blindness. The other condition is retinitis pigmentosa, where the photoreceptor cells in our retina responsible for detecting light at night, mainly the rod cells, undergo premature apoptosis, resulting in poor light perception. Retinitis pigmentosa can be congenital, caused by genetic mutations or abnormalities, but it can also be secondary to other diseases. Conditions like choroiditis or choroid retinitis inflammation can lead to abnormalities in the rod cells, which can also result in night blindness. The specific causes need to be examined.

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Written by Wang Hui Zhen
Ophthalmology
1min 14sec home-news-image

What causes sudden night blindness?

There are many causes of sudden night blindness. Night blindness refers to blurry vision or even complete inability to see in low-light conditions such as nighttime, possibly even leading to difficulties in movement. Night blindness can be categorized into congenital, acquired, and temporary types. Congenital night blindness is mostly related to genetic factors, where the patient is born with a deficiency in synthesizing rhodopsin, leading to night blindness. Temporary night blindness is often due to a lack of Vitamin A in the diet, or due to some digestive system diseases that affect the absorption of Vitamin A. Acquired night blindness is usually caused by diseases of the retina or the eye itself. Therefore, if sudden night blindness occurs, it is recommended to go to a reputable hospital's ophthalmology department for comprehensive examinations such as visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit lamp, dilated fundus examination, and if necessary, further tests like fundus fluorescein angiography to identify the cause and provide targeted treatment.

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Written by Tao Yuan
Ophthalmology
1min home-news-image

Does night blindness have anything to do with playing on mobile phones?

Night blindness is not related to using mobile phones. Night blindness can be caused by several reasons, with the common ones as follows: First, it can be caused by a deficiency in vitamin A, commonly seen in patients with long-term unbalanced diets and malnutrition. Vitamin A is an essential raw material for the synthesis of photosensitive substances in the retina. A deficiency in vitamin A can lead to abnormal retinal function, causing night blindness. This can be treated by taking vitamin A capsules orally or by consuming foods rich in vitamin A, such as animal liver and carrots. Second, it can be caused by retinitis pigmentosa, which is related to congenital developmental abnormalities. Currently, there are no effective treatments available. Third, it can be due to advanced glaucoma, where surgical treatment to lower eye pressure is needed to prevent and slow the progression of the condition.

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Written by Tao Yuan
Ophthalmology
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Early symptoms of night blindness

Night blindness is a common early symptom of eye diseases, manifested by blurred vision in dim environments. When transitioning from bright to dark environments, it takes a longer time to gradually adapt. There are many causes of night blindness, such as common ones including vitamin A deficiency, malnutrition of rod cells, and advanced glaucoma. If symptoms of night blindness occur, it is necessary to visit an ophthalmologist in a hospital soon for diagnostic evaluation to determine the specific cause. For night blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency, recovery can be promoted by taking oral vitamin A capsules. There is currently no effective treatment for night blindness caused by malnutrition of rod cells. For those caused by advanced glaucoma, surgical treatment is needed to delay or prevent the progression of the condition.