Night blindness symptoms and treatment
The eyes need vitamin A or its precursor, beta carotene, as well as bioflavonoids, to make the pigments that absorb light within the eye. A deficiency in vitamin A, or a failure to utilize it properly, impairs the eye’s ability to adapt to darkness and leads to night blindness. This does not entail a total loss of night vision, but rather difficulty seeing well in dim lighting.
Vitamin A deficiency is rare in the Western world, but it remains a major problem in many underdeveloped countries. Organ meats, fortified margarine, butter, and other dairy products are good sources of vitamin A. Dark yellow or orange foods, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and apricots, as well as dark green leafy vegetables, are the richest sources of beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. Failing night vision should not be self-treated with vitamin A or beta carotene supplements; the problem may stem from a digestive or malabsorption disorder that prevents the body from using the vitamin. Treatment of the underlying cause usually cures the night blindness. An exception is night blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disease. However, recent research suggests that vitamin A may, in fact, slow the progressive vision loss of this incurable disease.
