Why does a person see poorly in the dark? Hemeralopia

Human eyes- an amazing creation of nature, capable of working in a wide variety of conditions, providing us with the lion's share of the information we need for a full life. The human race owes its survival in difficult primitive times largely to the ability to notice and avoid danger in time in the dark. Of course, our twilight and night vision is much weaker than, for example, that of cats or owls, but we are still able to navigate the terrain at night, as well as distinguish shapes and colors in the twilight.

Unfortunately, today civilized people are increasingly faced with the problem sharp deterioration vision in the dark. This pathology is often called “night blindness,” but in medicine it is known as hemeralopia. People with this disease see well in good light conditions, but at dusk they, like chickens, almost stop seeing. Patients complain that at this time their eyes seem to be shrouded in a veil of thick fog. Sometimes hemeralopia sufferers have spots in their field of vision when they come out of the darkness into the light.

Due to hemeralopia, the risk of injury in the evening and at night increases sharply, and driving a car becomes an extremely dangerous activity. “Night blindness” also leaves its mark on the psyche: phobias, fear of the dark and other mental disorders appear.

How does a person see in the dark?

To understand the reasons for the deterioration of twilight vision, you need to delve a little deeper into the physiology of vision. If you don’t want to understand the mechanism of twilight vision, you can watch a fascinating excerpt about night blindness from the popular TV show “Live Healthy” with Elena Malysheva:

The retinas of our eyes convert the light that hits them into a stream of electrical impulses that travel along the optic nerves to the occipital part brain for subsequent processing. This conversion of light energy into electrical energy occurs in the photoreceptors of the retina, which are divided into 2 types - rods and cones.

Thanks to the three types of cones (“blue”, “green”, “red”), which are concentrated in the center of the retina, we are able to distinguish colors. The more numerous rods are distributed throughout the retina and perceive only white light, and with much greater sensitivity than the cones - the individual color components of light.

At dusk, the intensity of light entering the eyes drops sharply, so the cones stop working, causing the world for us it loses its color. The rods are involved in visual work, providing us with a dim black and white visible picture. At such a time, we distinguish the outlines of objects, and different colors are perceived by us as different shades of gray. It should be noted that chopsticks need certain time to reach your maximum efficiency. The process of reconfiguring the eyes for twilight and night vision is scientifically called “dark adaptation.”

The rods contain a special chemical called rhodopsin (or visual purple), which breaks down in light, sending electrical signals to the visual center of the brain. Should be paid Special attention that vitamin A is integral part rhodopsin. As soon as a deficiency of this vitamin occurs in the body, vision problems begin at dusk and at night.

Visual purple tends to recover in the dark. The amount of reduced rhodopsin is directly related to the acuity of twilight vision - the more it is, the more sensitive our eyes are to light. During the day, in bright light, rhodopsin completely disintegrates and we cannot see if we suddenly find ourselves in the dark. For example, when on a bright sunny day we go down into a dark cellar and the door is closed behind us, we find ourselves in pitch darkness. We need some time for a sufficient amount of rhodopsin to be restored in our eyes and for us to begin to distinguish the outlines of objects around us. The more time we spend in the dark, the sharper our vision becomes due to dark adaptation and we begin to see more details in the world around us.

Possible causes of hemeralopia

Doctors divide hemeralopia into congenital and acquired. The cause of congenital night blindness lies in our genetics, so we cannot change anything here, unfortunately.

As for acquired night blindness, it occurs due to the fact that, due to various reasons, either the number of rods in the retina decreases, or the process of restoration of rhodopsin in the rods is disrupted. Let's list a few of these reasons:

• eye diseases (glaucoma, myopia high degree, retinal dystrophy, retinal pigment pathologies, etc.);
• malnutrition associated with a lack of vitamins A and B2;
• head injuries resulting in work impairment visual center brain;
• severe exhaustion of the body;
• anemia;
• liver diseases;
• frequent exposure to bright light on unprotected eyes;
• improper organization of workplace lighting.

Treatment of night blindness

Before starting treatment for hemeralopia, you need to consult with an ophthalmologist and undergo a fundus examination to identify possible pathologies retina. The doctor will help determine the cause of this disease and give recommendations for its treatment.

If night blindness is a consequence of a certain disease (for example, hepatitis), it is obvious that it cannot be cured without progress in the treatment of the underlying disease.

If there are no obvious pathologies of the retina and there are no signs of a disease causing hemeralopia, then there is a high chance of normalizing twilight and night vision if you act in two directions at once.

Firstly, you need to take care comfortable conditions for eyes. Use the sun protective glasses to protect your eyes from irritating effect bright sunlight on open air. When driving at night, use special polarized visors or to avoid being blinded by the headlights of oncoming cars. When working at a computer in the office or at home, make sure that the light reflected from the monitor does not enter your eyes, and that the monitor itself is not perceived as a bright, blinding spot against the background of the surrounding environment. In addition, night blindness sufferers are strongly advised to avoid light from fluorescent (economy) lamps.

Secondly, you need to start nutritional therapy to give your eyes all the substances they need to normal operation, especially in the dark. First of all, we are talking about vitamins A and B2, which are involved in chemical processes with the visual pigment rhodopsin. High calorie therapeutic diet must contain the following products:

• butter;
• milk;
• Cod liver;
• eggs;
• fruits and berries (peaches, apricots, gooseberries, cherries, black currants, blackberries, blueberries, rowan);
• vegetables and greens (spinach, carrots, tomatoes, green pea, salad).

Remember that vitamin A is a fat-soluble substance, so it is best absorbed when combined with fat. The topic of products that are good for vision is more fully covered in.

Diet therapy is also used for congenital hemeralopia, but there is no hope for a cure for this disease. In this case, a high-calorie fortified diet only slightly improves the patient's twilight and night vision.

In addition, those suffering from night blindness can be recommended to wear polarized glasses with yellow or orange lenses at night. Typically these glasses are called driving glasses (or anti-headlight glasses), but you can just as easily use them while walking home at dusk. Besides that polarized glasses eliminate glare and reduce the glare of bright light, they increase color contrast and depth of perception, which is precisely what is lacking in hemeralopia.

How to prepare your eyes for working in the dark

I think that both healthy people and those suffering from hemeralopia will benefit from the following tips on improving dark adaptation of the eyes for a faster and better transition from daytime to twilight/night vision.

Have you ever wondered why pirates are often depicted with an eyepatch over one eye? Did they really lose their eyes so often? naval battles and that’s why they shyly covered their blemish with a bandage? Not at all!

Pirates often had to go down from the brightly lit deck into the dark hold, but using candles or lanterns with an open fire was a fire hazard and inconvenient. But it is enough to cover one eye with a bandage (to restore rhodopsin) and it will always be ready to work in the dark! Having descended into the hold, the pirate lifted the blindfold and used his eye, well adapted to the dark. Returning to the deck, he again covered this eye with a bandage so as not to disturb its dark adaptation.

Nowadays, “pirate” experience can be used by following these two recommendations:

1. To prevent your twilight vision from being impaired on a bright sunny day, wear Sunglasses(preferably gray). It has been experimentally established that exposure to bright sun without safety glasses

within 2-3 hours increases the dark adaptation time by an average of 10 minutes. 2. When in the dark, try not to look at light sources so as not to disturb twilight vision.

Another method of dark adaptation is based on the insensitivity of rods to red light. As far back as World War II, the US Army used well-fitting red glasses. Such glasses were worn by soldiers in the guardhouse an hour before going on night duty. Red light did not prevent the rods from actively restoring rhodopsin, which allowed the eyes to be well prepared for working in the dark. On the other hand, thanks to the work of the “red” cones, a person could freely navigate in a brightly lit room. This approach allowed the duty officer to effectively perform his duties literally from the very first seconds of his shift.

Today this “American” method underlies the following recommendation:

3. 20-30 minutes before going out into the dark, put on red-tinted glasses. This recommendation, by the way, is used by pilots when they do not have the opportunity to be in the dark before a night flight.

Latest recommendation for quick adaptation eye to the dark was borrowed from the “special forces”. Special forces soldiers, finding themselves in the dark, close their eyes tightly for 10 seconds, pressing their eyelids on the eyeballs. This method works, but clearly scientific explanation there is no such effect yet. We can enhance this effect by pressing on the eyes not with our eyelids, but with our hands (a special forces soldier has his hands full):

4. Massage your eyeballs by closing your eyes and applying slight pressure with your palms. After 5-10 seconds, you will notice that your field of vision will turn from black to white for a few seconds. It is as if the eyes are “rebooted”. We have to wait until White color will be replaced by the usual black, after which you can open your eyes again. After this procedure, your twilight vision will noticeably improve.

That's all. I wish that your eyes never fail you in the dark!

Some animals, such as cats, can see well almost complete darkness, since their eyes contain many cells that can capture even very weak rays of light and reflect them on the retina. Wherein cat's eyes glow in the dark.

Have you ever thought that the camera takes pictures normally only in normal lighting? Our eyes are very similar to a camera - in low light they see only the general outlines of objects, but in good light they can already discern color and a clear outline. The object does not necessarily have to be exposed to direct light, it may well be light reflected from something, it is quite sufficient - for example, many types of lamps shine on the ceiling, from where it is reflected and scattered. And yet our eyes try to adapt to the darkness - by dilating the pupil. But our vision is not as effective as current technological progress - many auxiliary devices have been invented that help people with visual impairments see, and simply improve performance - glasses, binoculars, optical sights and others. Some devices generally work on a completely different principle and do not need light at all, for example, night vision devices that capture heat from an object or person and we see them in the form of luminous points.
The brain perceives images, analyzes, compares with others, recognizes and remembers. When performing these operations, he is in any case limited by previous experience, that is, he turns to figures already known to him: he completes unfinished lines, imagines invisible forms.

At the front of the eye is the iris (the colored part) surrounding a small round hole called the pupil. When you look at an object, light bounces off it, enters your eye through the pupil, passes through the lens, the lens that focuses the image, and finally reaches the retina. The retina is a kind of screen made of nerve endings, in which the image is turned upside down. Retinal cells transform light signals into electric ones and transmit them via optic nerve to the brain: here the information is processed and the visual image is recognized.

It doesn't matter whether you want to sneak into a secret ninja base at midnight or just get home safely from work at night, improving night vision is the result of training, maintaining healthy image life and protect your eyes from harm.

Steps

Part 1

Use your chopsticks. It takes 30 to 45 minutes for the rods to adjust to the change in light around you. Rods perceive only black and white colors and have low clarity, but they are extremely sensitive under night lighting conditions.

• Photosensitive pigments are light-sensitive substances found in rods and cones that transmit visible images to your brain. Rhodopsin is a visual pigment found in rods and is responsible for night vision.
• Your eyes' ability to adapt to darkness depends on some things you can't control, such as your age, previous injuries or damage to your eyes, and any existing eye conditions.
• To see in the dark, you must know how to increase the sensitivity of your rods and force your eyes to adapt more quickly to sudden changes in light.
• In dim lighting, avoid looking directly at the light source. This way you use your rods rather than your cones, which are activated when your eyes look at a dim light source. This technique is often used by astronomers.

1. Wear dark or red-tinted glasses. Rods are not sensitive to red light, so wearing these glasses for 20 to 30 minutes before entering a dark room will help you recognize movement inside more quickly.

   • By blocking the entire visible spectrum except red, these glasses will allow your rods to adapt to a kind of darkness before you're actually in it.
   • This method is used by pilots when they do not have time to be in complete darkness before a night flight.

2. Don't look at the light source. Light sources will cause your pupils to contract, thereby impairing your night vision.

   • The pupil is similar to the aperture of a camera, it contracts and dilates depending on the amount of light entering the eye. The brighter the light, the narrower the pupil becomes. In low light conditions, your pupil will dilate greatly to absorb as much light as possible.
   • By pointing your eyes toward the light source, you increase the time it takes for your eyes to adjust to the low light.
   • If you cannot completely avoid bright light, close or close one eye completely, or look to the side until the light source disappears from your field of vision.

3. Improve night vision while driving. Before you get in the car, take steps to improve your vision for night driving.

   • As mentioned above, try not to look directly at the approaching light source. If another car comes around a corner with its high beams on, close one eye to prevent temporary vision loss in both eyes and to return to normal night vision more quickly.
   • Look at white stripe on the right, which is on your side of the road. This will allow you to stay in a safe direction, notice moving objects in your peripheral vision, and avoid being blinded again by the high beams of oncoming cars.
   • Reduce the intensity of your dashboard lights to a low but safe level to help your vision during night driving. Also use night mode on your rear view mirrors. This will reduce the bright light from Vehicle, following you.
   • Wash your car's headlights, wipers and windshield regularly. At night, spots on the windshield can become sources of bright light.
   • Carry out timely Maintenance of your car, including adjusting the headlights and fog lights. Even a slight shift of one or two degrees can prevent other drivers from experiencing vision problems as a result of your headlights.

4. Let your eyes get used to the darkness on their own. The best way learning to see in the dark means allowing your eyes to slowly adapt to the darkness by remaining in complete darkness for 20-30 minutes.

5. Engage peripheral vision. Each of your eyes has natural blind spots, which can make it much more difficult to navigate in the dark while you're trying to focus your eyes.

   • As you move through a dark room, try to focus on an object away from you or in close proximity to the direction you are moving. Through your peripheral vision, you will be able to notice the movement and shape of an object better than by trying to see it directly.
   • Peripheral vision is activated large quantity rods, which play a key role in orientation in the dark, determining the shape of an object and detecting movement.

6. Go lower to distinguish the silhouettes and use the effect of contrast. Remember that your sticks are color and clarity blind and are your guide in the dark.

   • The night sky is a wonderful source of light. Once low enough, the light from the night sky or from a window provides enough contrast to make the rods work easier in your eyes.
   • Some martial arts teach you to stay as low as possible, using the sky to illuminate objects and opponents so you can more easily make out their silhouette.
   • Although rods are more sensitive to light than cones, they can only distinguish between black and white colors and images Low quality, contrasting the available light source behind the objects.

7. Massage your eyeballs. Close your eyes tightly and press lightly with your palms. .

   • After about 5-10 seconds, the darkness surrounding you will turn white for a few seconds. When whiteness is replaced by black again, open your eyes and you will see much better in the dark.
   • Rumor has it that special forces soldiers use a similar technique - when they find themselves in the dark, they close their eyes tightly for 5-10 seconds. Although the effectiveness of this method has not been proven by the scientific community, it can still help someone.

8. Use all your senses to “see.” In a dark room, step carefully until your eyes get used to the darkness.

   • Keep both feet on the ground, extend your arms forward and move slowly. Watch closely for changes in sound, which may indicate the presence of a door, hallway, or window nearby. Fumble with your hands in front of you to avoid colliding with a tree or doorway.

9. Learn to navigate by sound. Researchers have made great strides in working with blind people. They have developed the ability to make clicking sounds with their tongue, called click sonar. It is similar to the echolocator that bats use.

   • Using click sonar, you can quite accurately determine the location of objects in front of you and around you. An experiment was conducted in which a woman made clicking sounds with her tongue to “scan” the space in front of her until she was able to find a saucepan that another person was holding. With a couple extra clicks, she was able to determine the type and shape of the lid on the pan.
   • Another click sonar expert is able to ride a mountain bike through difficult terrain and navigate all obstacles without issue.
   • Experts in the click sonar technique claim that every person can develop this ability.

Part 2

1. Wear sunglasses during the daytime. Several hours of exposure to bright sunlight and ultraviolet radiation may impair your ability to adapt to darkness.

   • For every 2-3 hours spent under the bright sun during the daytime without sunglasses will slow down your adjustment to darkness by about 10 minutes.
   • Moreover, in addition to slower adaptation to darkness, the quality of night vision also decreases. For example, 10 days of exposure to bright sunlight without protective glasses can reduce your ability to see in the dark by half.
   • Over time, your rods, cones, and light-sensitive pigments will return to normal. The duration of exposure varies for each person.
   • Use sunglasses with neutral gray, which transmit 15% of visible light.

2. Turn down your computer's brightness. If you work at night, set your monitor brightness to its lowest setting.

   • If you are in dark room, but look at a bright screen, the effectiveness of your night vision will be significantly reduced.
   • Some programs help you adjust the screen brightness depending on the time of day.

3. Give your eyes a rest. Take frequent breaks between sitting in front of the monitor, reading books and other cases of prolonged concentration.

   • Your eyes need frequent rest. After every 20 minutes of intense work, especially in front of a computer screen, take a break and look into the distance for 20 seconds. This will allow your eyes to refocus.
   • After every two hours of concentrated work in front of a computer screen or other task that requires close attention, rest your eyes for 15 minutes.
   • Keep your eyes from straining by taking a five or ten minute nap in the middle of the day. Close your eyes and massage them gently. You don't have to go to bed to rest your eyes.

4. Train your peripheral vision. Using your peripheral vision is essential to improving your ability to see in low-light areas.

   • Peripheral vision is your ability to notice movement at the edge of your visual field using the rods in your eyes.
   • Developing peripheral vision is an effective way to increase visibility in low light.
   • Although training your peripheral vision takes a lot of time and effort for most people, it can help you see much better in the dark.
   • By doing eye exercises to improve your vision (including peripheral vision), you will begin to see better in the dark.

5. Try an exercise that is often used in sports training. Improving peripheral vision is useful in many situations, including sports.

   • For this exercise you will need a regular one-color straw. Draw a black stripe around the center of the straw.
   • Give the straw to your partner and move 0.3-0.6 meters away from him, taking a toothpick in each hand. Your partner should hold the straw horizontally.
   • Look at the black line and notice the ends of the straw using your peripheral vision.
   • Concentrate on the black line. Try inserting toothpicks into the holes on both ends of the straw while keeping your eyes on the black line.
   • Once you get the hang of it, you can increase the difficulty of the exercise by using two straws connected to each other.

6. Focus on your peripheral vision. Another way to develop your peripheral vision for better night vision is to focus your attention on it and use it more often in daylight.

   • Sit somewhere (preferably outside) where you can watch a lot of different things. Focus on the object that is directly in front of you.
   • Make a mental list of everything you see around you (both movable and non-movable objects), without distracting from the central object. Look away and look around to see what you might have missed. Mentally note how far from the center you could recognize things around you.
   • Repeat this exercise, but in a different place, and try to expand the area within which you are able to recognize surrounding objects.

Part 3

1. Eat blueberries. Blueberry is a plant that is used in the creation various types medicines.

   • Research has shown that blueberries may have some effect on retinal-related eye problems.
   • The most promising studies support the use of blueberries in cases associated with retinal changes due to such medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.
   • Blueberries are believed to improve night vision, although research results are conflicting. Some evidence suggests that blueberries have positive impact to improve night vision, while others do not support these claims.
   • When it comes to improving night vision, the latest evaluation of blueberries puts them in the same category as other "possibly effective" remedies.
   • Finding blueberries raw is not that easy, but they are in free access in the form of extract, jam or jelly. Follow package directions to determine how many blueberries you should consume per day.

2. Consume more vitamin A. One of the first symptoms of vitamin A deficiency is night (or night) blindness.

   • Also in Ancient Egypt It was discovered that to treat night blindness you need to include liver in your diet, which was later found to contain a large number of vitamin A.
   • A lack of vitamin A causes the surface of the cornea to become very dry, which in turn leads to clouding at the front of the eye, ulcers on the surface of the cornea, loss of vision, as well as retinal damage and problems with the mucous membrane of the eye.
   • Excellent sources of vitamin A include foods such as carrots, broccoli, pumpkin, cantaloupe, fish, liver, fortified cereals, dairy products, cabbage, blueberries and apricots.
   • Although increasing your intake of foods rich in vitamin A may be beneficial, research in this area has shown that nutritional supplements provide significantly more vitamin A. Moreover, excessive consumption of these foods will not improve your vision.
   • Vitamin A can be purchased in tablet or capsule form, and dosages are given in micrograms or units. The average recommended dose of vitamin A for an adult is 800 to 1000 micrograms, or 2600 to 3300 units per day.
   • The protein rhodopsin, located in the eyeball, breaks down into retinal and opsin under the influence of light and is synthesized back in the dark. Severe vitamin A deficiency can lead to night blindness, but supplemental vitamin A will not improve vision.

3. Increase your intake of dark green and leafy vegetables. As for improving night vision and vision itself, greatest benefit can be achieved by focusing on the foods you eat.

   • Kale, spinach and kale are rich in nutrients, which protect the eyes by filtering certain light waves which can damage the retina of the eye.
   • These products also protect the eyes from certain degenerative processes, such as macular degeneration due to aging.

4. Eat more healthy fats. In particular, consume more products containing omega-3 fatty acids.

   • Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, especially fatty varieties such as salmon and tuna, as well as kale. vegetable oils, nuts (in particular, in walnuts), flax seeds, linseed oil and leafy vegetables.
   • Omega-3 fatty acids combat macular degeneration and help maintain eye health, good vision and save them from dryness.
   • According to one study, patients who ate fatty fish once a week, the risk of developing neovascular macular degeneration was halved. If you consume enough omega-3 fatty acids during long period(over 12 years), the risk of developing this disease will decrease even more.

5. Drink enough fluids. The surface of the eye is 98% water. Dry eyes are caused by dehydration, which will make it difficult for you to see in the dark.

   • Consumption sufficient quantity Drinking water is very important for overall health, although the direct connection between fluid intake and improved vision is not clear-cut.
   • Some experts argue that certain circumstances that negatively affect the level of water balance in the body, can lead to vision impairment and general health eye.
   • For example, high temperatures, climates with low humidity or intense sunlight can cause the stratum basale to lose its function due to dehydration, negatively impacting your vision.
   • To keep your eyes healthy, follow the recommended water intake, aiming to drink at least 2 liters daily. Depending on the intensity of work and factors environment, this figure may vary.

During the day, in good lighting, hemeralopia sufferers do not have any complaints. Well, except that sometimes in very bright light they may develop photophobia. However, with the onset of twilight or when the room darkens, they notice that the outlines of objects become unclear and their fields of vision narrow. Color perception is impaired, especially blue and yellow colors.

Children with hemeralopia are often frightened by the deterioration of their vision in the dark.

Description

The retina of the eye contains two types of light-sensitive cells - rods and cones. Rods are responsible for black-and-white vision and enable a person to see in low light conditions, while cones are responsible for color perception. Normally, there are approximately 18 times more rods than cones, and if their number decreases or their work is disrupted, a person begins to see worse in the dark and develops night blindness.

Hemeralopia is called night blindness because those suffering from this disease, like chickens, see poorly in the twilight: that the retina of a chicken's eye consists of only cones, so birds distinguish colors very well, but see almost nothing in the dark.

Hemeralopia can be congenital or acquired. Congenital hemeralopia is caused by genetic diseases, such as hereditary retinitis pigmentosa or Usher syndrome. In this case, hemeralopia manifests itself quite early in childhood or adolescence.

Acquired hemeralopia can be either essential or symptomatic. Essential hemeralopia develops when functional disorders retina. This usually occurs with a lack of vitamins, PP, B2. The cause of such vitamin deficiencies may be liver disease, irrational and insufficient nutrition, alcoholism, diseases gastrointestinal tract, rubella, poisoning with some chemicals. This hemeralopia worsens in the spring.

A risk factor for the development of hemeralopia is age after 40 years. It is at this time that they slow down metabolic processes in the body and the nutrition of the retina deteriorates.

Diagnostics

To diagnose this disease you need to contact an ophthalmologist. The diagnosis is made based on patient complaints and research:

• perimetry (determining the field of view);
• ophthalmoscopy (detection of degenerative lesions on the retina);
• adaptometry (light perception test);
• electroretinography (study functional state retina);
• electrooculography (checking the surface layer of the retina).

In the case of essential hemeralopia, a consultation with a gastroenterologist will be required to determine the cause of the vitamin deficiency.

Treatment

Congenital hemeralopia cannot be treated.

In the case of symptomatic hemeralopia, treatment consists of eliminating the underlying disease that caused night blindness. In this case, the outcome of treatment is determined by the severity of the underlying disease. Perhaps as complete cure, and persistent loss of twilight vision.

Essential hemeralopia responds well to treatment. To do this, it is necessary to eliminate the causes of vitamin deficiency, and often it is enough to simply change the diet and quality of nutrition. Doctors recommend eating more liver, carrots, spinach, lettuce, green onions, milk, cheese and egg yolks. Apricots, gooseberries, black currants and blueberries are also useful.

Prevention

Prevention of hemeralopia involves proper nutrition and prevention of eye diseases. Ophthalmologists remind that workplace It must be well lit and, if necessary, in bright sunshine, when welding or in white snow, you must wear safety glasses. You should try to protect your eyes and head from injury.

From many drivers and not only you can often hear: “Oh, I can’t see well at dusk and at night.” Some people notice that in daylight hours They see well during the day, but in the dark they can hardly see the outlines of objects. It would seem to be one thing when a pedestrian talks about it, but another thing when this problem bothers its owner at night while driving a car. But everything is so straightforward in this world. This deviation of vision from the norm is called night blindness, which is actually a serious problem for any person. Twilight vision impairment is treatable, like most other eye pathologies, and it can be improved without resorting to wearing lenses. Dear readers of Popular Health who are faced with this problem, right now you will find out what techniques and exercises will help you see better in the dark.

What is night blindness or hemeralopia??

Our eyes have light-sensitive elements called rods. They are the ones who help us navigate in the dark and are responsible for black-and-white vision. They are located on the periphery of the retina. Deterioration of visual acuity at dusk is scientifically called hemeralopia. The disease itself does not pose a risk of complete loss of vision, but it greatly affects a person’s quality of life. Thus, drivers who have discovered this problem with their eyes are afraid to drive their cars in the evening and at night, as this threatens an accident on the road. Others are afraid to leave the house in the evening because they have trouble finding their way at night. What are the reasons why a person sees poorly at night?

Causes of night blindness

Before you study various ways improving twilight vision, let's look at the reasons that provoke its weakening.

1. Poor nutrition. It is known that visual acuity at dusk directly depends on whether your body receives sufficiently vitamin A (retinol). If your diet is varied, but you still have problems with night vision, most likely vitamin A is simply not absorbed. This may occur due to violations in endocrine system and some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, as well as decreased immunity.

2. Another reason is the lack of vitamins PP and B2, which contribute to the absorption of retinol by the body.

3. There are other causes of hemeralopia, in which it is quite difficult to cure twilight blindness, such as liver cirrhosis, AIDS, and some congenital diseases.

In general, the disease is treatable. Let's look at some effective ways eliminating unpleasant symptoms.

I can’t see well while driving – what to do??

If you contact an ophthalmologist with a complaint about your problem, the first thing he will do is experienced doctor, - this will direct you to take tests for the content of retinol in the blood. If its level is too low, the doctor will try to find out the reason - the lack of vitamin is caused by some underlying disease or poor nutrition. Diet with increased content vitamin A is the main method of treatment if you do not have other abnormalities in the body ( chronic diseases, hepatitis, etc.)

What products should be included in daily diet if you have trouble seeing at night:

Liver (beef, pork);
Carrot;
Greens (parsley, dill);
Beet;
Spinach;
Legumes;
Fish.

You definitely need to take a course of vitamins containing retinol. It could be whole vitamin complexes, which, in addition to this element, also contain vitamins B and PP. For example:

Duovit;
Teravit;
Perfect.

Do you need glasses? What Professor Zhdanov says?

If you watch Professor Zhdanov’s video, which is called “It’s time to take off your glasses,” you will understand that most eye problems can be solved in a natural way. Doctor leads Interesting Facts about how the eye works and why vision as a result of wearing lenses only worsens over the years. The fact is that our vision directly depends on training eye muscles(longitudinal and transverse) and the ability to relax them. They are the ones who help eyeball accept round shape, to see in the distance and oval, to see well up close. By doing simple exercises that develop these muscles, you can give up glasses forever, including improving your visual acuity in the twilight.

Exercises for visual acuity

1. Sit comfortably with your back straight. Close your eyelids. Place your palms over your eyes without pressing them to your face. You should feel completely relaxed and think about pleasant things. Stay in this position for at least a minute. This will help you relax muscle fibers eye.

2. Stand by the window (40 cm from the glass). Look at the very far point, for example, on the horizon, or try to see the smallest details in the windows located opposite your house. Focus on the farthest object that is in sight (60 seconds). Then look at the glass (60 seconds). Do this several times.

3. Yoga exercise with a candle. In a dark room, place a candle on the table and sit opposite. Peer at the top of its flame for 2 minutes. Then close your eyelids and place your rubbed palms on your eyes and rest. The next stage is to peer into the center of the flame for 1-2 minutes, try not to blink. Rest again, covering your eyes with your hands. The third stage is to cover the entire flame of the candle with your gaze, without blinking, look like this for 2 minutes. Rest. It is important to breathe correctly while performing the exercise - slowly and deeply.

If you begin to notice that you have trouble seeing at night, then be sure to analyze what you usually eat to see if your diet is poor. Poor nutrition - main reason development of hemeralopia. Don’t neglect eye exercises either; despite their simplicity, they are quite effective.