Night Blindness

Prevention and Treatment of Night blindness

information on self-help, nutritional recommendations & research

People with night blindness (also called impaired dark adaptation) typically see poorly in the darkness but see normally when adequate amounts of light are present. This condition unless accompanied by other eye pathology does not usually involve true blindness, even at night.

Specific nutritional supplementation can help improve night vision. Certain nutrients such as Bilberry, Lutein, Ginkgo Biloba, Zeaxanthin, Vitamin A, and other vitamins and minerals may help night blindness and preserve vision.
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Symptoms

May vary on an individual basis for each patient. Symptoms include difficulty seeing when driving in the evening or at night, poor vision in reduced light, and feeling that the eyes take longer to "adjust" to seeing in the dark. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed night blindness symptoms.

Nutritional Supplements for Night Blindness

These are the most important supplements and recommendations for night blindness.

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Here's our single most important recommendation:
Doctor's Choice: Advanced Eye and Vision Support Formula - Dr. Grossman's Advanced Eye & Vision (whole food) Support Formula - 60 vcaps per bottle Promotes clear vision and healthy eyes, including macula, retina and lens, supports healthy eye growth, and rejuvenation, and supports the body's natural detoxification processes with targeted, quality antioxidants for vision.

Essential: Advanced Eye and Vision Support Formula - Dr. Grossman's Advanced Eye & Vision (whole food) Support Formula - 60 vcaps per bottle Promotes clear vision and healthy eyes, including macula, retina and lens, supports healthy eye growth, and rejuvenation, and supports the body's natural detoxification processes with targeted, quality antioxidants for vision.

Essential: Vitamin A Palmitate 120 caps - Vitamin A Palmitate 120 capsule - 15,000 IU per capsule

Essential: Carlsons Super Omega-3 Gems 1000 mg 130 softgels / 250 softgels - Super Omega-3 Gems 1000 mg 130 softgels / 250 softgels - Fish body oil is the only major source of the polyunsaturated Omega 3's EPA and DHA

Helpful: Vital Eyes Complete - Vital Eyes Complete 60 capsules

Helpful: VisionTone Formula - This formula is based on the classic Chinese formula Six-Ingredient Pill to support overall Kidney meridian energy related to general health, bones, fertility, retinal and eye lens support, and menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, dry eyes and overall dryness.

Helpful: Renewal Greens 10.6 oz - Comprehensive high quality all organic green drink for overall health. Includes organic vegetable blend, wheat grass blend and digestive enzymes

Causes

Possible causes of night blindness (poor night vision): The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of night blindness as a symptom. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

Retinitis pigmentosa
Macular Degeneration
Rod-Cone Dystrophy
Cataracts
Vitamin A deficiency
Malabsorption - if it affects vitamin A absorption
Celiac disease
Cystic fibrosis
Bile duct obstruction
Cirrhosis of the liver
Diabetes
Severe short-sightedness (myopia)
Congenital night vision disorder

Self Help

Diet & Nutrition

The Vision Diet - recommended in Natural Eye Care: An Encyclopedia on CD, which covers 29 major eye conditions including poor night vision with specific nutrient, diet, exercise and juicing instructions by eye condition, plus much more.
Vegetables Consume dark green vegetables such as spinach and collards, which are high in lutein and zeaxanthin, two nutrients vital for healthy eyes.
Avoid smoking, drinking (a glass of red wine daily is fine), hydrogenated oils, excessive intake of refined carbohydrates and sugar
Increase your visibility - clean your headlights
Slow down. That way, you give yourself more time to react to any unexpected hazards.
Always wear sunglasses outside, especially on bright days. (Blue and green eyed people are particularly sensitive to potential sun-induced damage, so the use of eye protection is paramount). Amber and grey lenses are the most effective protection against UVA/UVA and blue light.
Get prescription glasses for driving at night if needed (see your eye doctor to determine if they would be helpful).
Look to the right. Look at the roadway's edge to the right to help you avoid the glare of oncoming headlights.
Leave the driving till tomorrow. Drive only during the day. Even good lighting conditions at night, such as found in a big city, can be troublesome to someone with night blindness.
Supplement your diet with an excellent eye multivitamin such as Dr. Grossman's Whole Food Multivitamin. and an organic green drink daily such as Renewal Greens

Discussion

Vitamin A

Night blindness may be an early sign of vitamin A deficiency. Such a deficiency may result from diets low in animal foods (the main source of vitamin A), such as eggs, dairy products, organ meats, and some fish. Low intake of fruits and vegetables containing beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A, may also contribute to a vitamin A deficiency. Doctors often recommend 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin A per day to correct a deficiency. Beta-carotene is less effective at correcting vitamin A deficiency than is vitamin A itself, because it is not absorbed as well and is only slowly converted by the body into vitamin A.

The best form of vitamin A is known as palmitate, taken in a daily dose of 15,000 international units.

Zinc

Dietary zinc deficiency is common, and a lack of zinc may reduce the activity of retinol dehydrogenase, an enzyme needed to help vitamin A work in the eye. Zinc helps night blindness in people who are zinc-deficient;1 therefore, many physicians suggest 15 to 30 mg of zinc per day to support healthy vision. Because long-term zinc supplementation may reduce copper levels, 1 to 2 mg of copper per day (depending on the amount of zinc used) is usually recommended for people who are supplementing with zinc for more than a few weeks.

Bilberry

Bilberry, a close relative of the blueberry, is high in flavonoids known as anthocyanosides. Anthocyanosides speed the regeneration of rhodopsin, the purple pigment that is used by the rods in the eye for night vision.2 Supplementation with bilberry has been shown in early studies to improve dark adaptation in people with poor night vision.3 4 However, two newer studies found no effect of bilberry on night vision in healthy people.5, 6 Bilberry extract standardized to contain 25% anthocyanosides may be taken in capsule or tablet form.

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Studies

Footnotes:

Anonymous. Zinc-responsive night blindness in sickle cell anemia. Nutr Rev 1982;40:175 7.
Alfieri R, Sole P. Influencedes anthocyanosides admintres parvoie parenterale su l adaptoelectroretinogramme du lapin. CR Soc Biol 1964;15:2338 [in French].
Jayle GE, Aubry M, Gavini H, et al. Study concerning the action of anthocyanoside extracts of Vaccinium myrtillus on night vision. Ann Ocul 1965;198:556 62 [in French].
Belleoud L, Leluan D, Boyer YS. Study on the effects of anthocyanin glycosides on the nocturnal vision of air controllers. Rev Med Aeronaut Spatiale 1966;18:3 7.
Zadok D, Levy Y, Glovinsky Y. The effect of anthocyanosides in a multiple oral dose on night vision. Eye 1999;13:734 6.
Muth ER, Laurent JM, Jasper P. The effect of bilberry nutritional supplementation on night visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Altern Med Rev 2000;5:164 73.