Chicken blindness

Night blindness or nyctalopia (hemeralopia) is a special disorder in which a person loses the ability to see in the twilight.

It is considered not only an independent disease, but also a symptom of some eye diseases.

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Causes chicken blindness

In cases where night blindness is not a congenital pathology, it usually affects people in old age. The most common is essential or functional nyctalopia. It usually appears if a person eats improperly, especially if he or she does not consume enough foods with vitamin A. Sometimes this disease is caused by certain diseases: anemia of various etiologies, liver failure, severe exhaustion of the body. Some drugs can cause temporary night blindness (for example, quinine).

Congenital night blindness appears in early childhood. It is usually caused by various genetic factors.

Acquired nyctalopia can be caused by eye diseases such as glaucoma, retinal pigment pathologies, myopia, and cataracts.

Regardless of what exactly caused the disease, it occurs because too little of the pigment rhodopsin is produced in the rods of the retina.

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Pathogenesis

The pathogenesis of night blindness is based on the fact that the patient begins to see very poorly in the twilight or partial darkness. This also causes spatial disorientation. In addition, a person experiences a decrease in light sensitivity, adaptation to darkness worsens, and the field of vision narrows (which also affects how he sees colors). Congenital night blindness is characterized by a gradual deterioration of vision.

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Biochemical basis of hemeralopia

The pigment rhodopsin, which provides adaptation of the human eye to darkness, is present in the rod cells of the retina. In the light, rhodopsin completely disintegrates, and in the dark it is restored. But for the restoration process, it needs vitamin A. The energy that is released during the synthesis of rhodopsin is converted into electrical impulses and enters the brain through the optic nerve. It is this mechanism that ensures normal vision in the dark and the activity of the rod cells of the retina. Hemeralopia develops with a lack of pigment and a violation of the ratio of "cones" and "rods". In the daytime, vision remains good, but in the twilight its acuity is noticeably reduced.

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Symptoms chicken blindness

The main symptom of this disease is considered to be a gradual decrease in vision, especially noticeable at dusk. Also, the retina of the eye begins to react worse to light. The patient may complain of a deterioration in color perception (patients especially often begin to see blue poorly), and strange spots appear in the field of vision.

Why is night blindness dangerous?

Many of us, when someone has poor vision in low light, gently call such people "night blindness". But doctors usually do not joke with such things. Specialists know very well that nyctalopia can be a sign of such serious diseases as glaucoma or cataracts. In addition, people with night blindness experience unpleasant discomfort when they cannot, as before, distinguish objects in the twilight, especially if they were in the light before. Moreover, the appearance of this unpleasant symptom also frightens patients who are afraid of going blind forever.

Forms

Night blindness can be congenital, essential or acquired.

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Complications and consequences

The main complication of this pathology is the fact that it is almost never an independent disease, but only a manifestation of more serious pathological conditions.

It should also be remembered that not all types of night blindness respond equally well to treatment. In case of essential hemeralopia, twilight vision can be fully restored if all the doctor's recommendations are followed. The outcome of acquired night blindness depends on the severity of the disease that caused it.

Some patients develop a fear of the dark, which sometimes takes the form of a real phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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Diagnostics chicken blindness

Night blindness can only be diagnosed by an ophthalmologist based on the patient's complaints, the main symptoms of the disease, and the electroretinography method. The latter allows you to see all the anomalies on the retina.

Instrumental diagnostics

Electroretinography is a special method that allows studying the organs of vision using a special device. The basis of the method is that human eyes react to light with specific electrical impulses (biopotentials). An oscilloscope is used to record the data obtained.

As a result, the ophthalmologist receives an electroretinogram, which allows one to see a complete picture of the biopotentials of the retina. The electroretinogram contains several types of waves that carry important information. For example, with the help of the A-wave, one can see how active the photoreceptors are, and the B-wave indicates whether there are any diseases of the retina.

The following diagnostic methods are also used: optical coherence tomography, refractometry and tonography.

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Differential diagnosis

Differential diagnostics of night blindness is carried out with the following diseases: asthenopia, eye cyst, hemianopsia, diabetic retinopathy. A correct and timely diagnosis will help the patient to receive treatment faster and become healthy.

Treatment chicken blindness

Congenital hemeralopia is almost untreatable, but the others can be successfully treated. For example, if night blindness is a consequence of some other eye disease, the main treatment method here will be therapy for the underlying disease. Sometimes surgical intervention (laser vision correction) may be necessary.

The essential type of the disease is treated mainly with a special diet. The patient should add foods high in vitamin A to their diet and also maintain a healthy daily routine.

Diet for night blindness plays a very important role in the treatment of this disease. Be sure to include the following products in your diet:

1. Carrot.
2. Egg yolk.
3. Tomatoes.
4. Cheese.
5. Millet.
6. Berries.
7. Butter.
8. Spinach.
9. Beef liver or cod liver.

Also, do not forget about vegetables and fruits: peaches, pumpkin juice, green peas, apricots, parsley. To improve the absorption of vitamin A, you need to add foods with vitamin E to your diet: nuts, seeds, broccoli, potatoes.

Eye drops for night blindness

Riboflavin. This is a multi-component vitamin preparation that contains riboflavin (i.e., vitamin B2). This remedy is considered only prophylactic, it helps to enrich tissues with the necessary amount of oxygen, facilitate the conduction of nerve impulses, especially in the retina. It is indicated for night blindness, keratitis, conjunctivitis, and irisitis.

The usual dosage of riboflavin is as follows: the patient instills one drop of the drug into each eye twice a day. The duration of therapy can only be prescribed by a doctor.

The product is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance to its components. Side effects include: short-term loss of visual acuity, allergy.

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Vitamins

Usually, the treatment of night blindness is based on increasing the intake of vitamin A into the human body. Usually, preparations with this vitamin are prescribed in the following dosage: adults - up to 100 thousand IU of vitamin per day, children - up to 5 thousand IU of vitamin per day. Preparations with vitamins B2 and PP should also be prescribed simultaneously.

Folk remedies

1. Try to drink at least a little fish oil three times a day.
2. Try to add the following products to your daily diet: carrots, peas, green onions, spinach, black currants, beans, parsley, gooseberries, sea buckthorn.
3. Drink one mustard seed daily with plenty of water. Gradually increase the dose of seeds (up to 20 pieces), and then start decreasing again.

Please note that before using folk methods of treating night blindness, you should consult with your doctor.

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Herbal treatment

1. Infusion of stinking cornflower herb. Take 10 g of raw material, pour one glass of water, leave for 15 minutes, then strain. Use one tablespoon per day (3-4 times) before meals.
2. Decoction of millet. Take one glass of millet, pour two liters of water into an enamel pan, cook until the cereal is completely boiled. Use until vision improves.
3. A decoction of medicinal herbs. Take equal parts of primrose leaves, lingonberry, blackberry, viburnum, wild raspberry, lemon balm and snakeweed rhizome (one teaspoon each). Brew the resulting mixture in 0.35 liters of boiling water. Leave for one hour. Take three times a day, half a glass.

Surgical treatment

If hemeralopia was caused by myopia, glaucoma, cataracts, then, in some cases, it is difficult to do without surgical treatment. Sometimes refractive surgery is necessary, which is based on the correction of defects of the cornea and retina. If night blindness was caused by pigment dystrophy, then in this case it is necessary to perform a transplant. Glaucoma or cataracts are treated by replacing the lens (laser eye surgery), which, of course, helps to cope with night blindness.

Prevention

Prevention of night blindness is based on proper nutrition, timely treatment of eye diseases, and a healthy lifestyle. It is very important to constantly monitor the rest and work regime for those people who spend a lot of time in front of the computer. That is why try not to sit in front of the screen at night or in the twilight (without lighting), let your eyes rest at least once every 40 minutes. In bright sunlight or in winter at ski resorts, wear sunglasses.

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Forecast

Acquired night blindness in some cases can lead to complete loss of vision, especially if the treatment of the underlying disease was not carried out in a timely and correct manner. Otherwise, if the diagnosis was made quickly and the patient followed all the recommendations, the prognosis is favorable. It is possible to completely restore the adaptation of the retina to darkness and improve vision.

The essential type of the disease is easily and without any particular difficulties treated. Usually, after following all the recommendations of proper and therapeutic nutrition, the patient begins to see much better.

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