Chicken blindness

Chicken blindness or niktalopiya (hemostalopia) is a special disorder in which a person loses the ability to see at dusk.

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

[1], [2]

Causes of the night blindness

In the event that night blindness is not a congenital pathology, it usually affects people in old age. The most common is the essential, or functional niktalopiya. Usually it appears in the event that a person does not eat properly, especially if he does not consume enough foods with vitamin A. Sometimes this disease is caused by certain diseases: anemia of different etiology, hepatic insufficiency, severe exhaustion of the body. Some drugs can cause temporary night blindness (for example, quinine).

Congenital night blindness occurs in early childhood. Usually its causes are different genetic factors.

Acquired niktalopiya can be caused by eye diseases such as glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, nearsightedness, cataracts.

Despite the fact that it was the cause of the disease, it appears due to the fact that in the visual sticks of the retina there is too little pigment of rhodopsin.

[3], [4], [5],

Pathogenesis

The pathogenesis of night blindness is based on the fact that the patient begins to see very badly at dusk or incomplete darkness. This also causes spatial disorientation. In addition, a person has a decrease in light sensitivity, deterioration of adaptation to darkness, narrowing of the field of vision (which affects how he sees colors). Congenital night blindness is characterized by a gradual deterioration of vision.

[6], [7], [8]

Biochemical basis of hemeralopia

The rhodopsin pigment, which provides the adaptation of the human eye to darkness, is present in the rod-shaped cells of the retina. In light, rhodopsin completely disintegrates, but in the dark it recovers. But for the recovery process, he 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 provides normal vision in the dark and the activity of rod-shaped retina cells. Hemerallopia develops with a lack of pigment and a violation of the ratio of "cones" and "sticks." In the daytime, vision remains good, but at twilight, its sharpness is markedly reduced.

[9], [10], [11], [12], [13]

Symptoms of the night blindness

The main symptom of this disease is a gradual decrease in vision, especially when it's dusk. Also, the retina of the eye begins to respond worse to light. The patient can complain about the deterioration of color perception (especially often the patients begin to see badly the blue color), in the field of view there are strange spots.

What is dangerous for night blindness?

Many of us, when someone sees poorly in poor lighting, gently call such people "night blindness". But doctors with such things usually do not joke. Experts perfectly know that behind niktalopiey can lie such serious illnesses as glaucoma or cataract. In addition, people with night blindness get uncomfortable discomfort, when they can not, as before, distinguish objects in the twilight, especially if before they were in the light. Moreover, the appearance of this unpleasant symptom also frightens patients who are afraid to go blind for good.

Forms

Chicken blindness can be congenital, essential, or acquired.

[14], [15], [16]

Complications and consequences

The main complication of this pathology can be called 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 kinds of night blindness are equally amenable to treatment. With essential hemeralopia, twilight vision can be fully restored if all the physician's recommendations are followed. The outcome of acquired night blindness depends on the severity of the illness, which it was caused.

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

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Diagnostics of the night blindness

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

Instrumental diagnostics

Electroretinography is a special method that allows you to study the organs of vision with the help of a special apparatus. The basis of the method lies in the fact that human eyes react to light with specific electrical impulses (biopotentials). To record the data, use an oscilloscope.

As a result, the ophthalmologist receives an electroretinogram, which allows you to see a complete picture of the biopotentials of the retina. In the electroretinogram, there are several types of waves that carry important information. So, for example, with the aid of an A-wave, you can see how active the photoreceptors are, and the B-wave indicates whether there are any retinal diseases.

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

[18], [19], [20], [21]

Differential diagnosis

Differential diagnosis of night blindness is carried out with the following diseases: asthenopia, eye cyst, hemianopsia, diabetic retinopathy. Correctly and timely diagnosed will help the patient to get better treatment and become healthy.

Treatment of the night blindness

The congenital form of hemeralopia practically does not give in to treatment, and here with the rest it is possible to struggle successfully. For example, if night blindness is the result of some other eye disease, then the main treatment will be therapy of the underlying disease. Sometimes surgical intervention (laser correction of vision) may be necessary.

Essential type of the disease is treated mainly with the help of a special diet. The patient should add to his diet products with a high content of vitamin A, and also adhere to a healthy daily routine.

Diet with chicken 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 liver cod.

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

Eye drops with chicken blindness

Riboflavin. It is a vitaminic multicomponent drug that contains riboflavin (that is, vitamin B2). This tool is considered only preventive, it helps to enrich the tissues with the necessary amount of oxygen, to facilitate the conductivity of nerve impulses, especially in the retina. It is shown with chicken blindness, keratitis, conjunctivitis, iridite.

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

The drug is contraindicated for individual intolerance of its components. Among the side effects can be identified: a short-term loss of visual acuity, allergies.

[22], [23],

Vitamins

Usually, the treatment of night blindness is based on increasing the intake of vitamin A in the human body. Usually, preparations with this vitamin are prescribed in this dosage: adults - up to 100 thousand IU vitamin per day, children - up to 5 thousand IU vitamin per day. Also, concomitantly prescribe drugs with vitamins B2 and PP.

Alternative treatment

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

Please note, before using alternative methods of treatment of night blindness, it is necessary to consult the attending physician.

[24], [25]

Herbal Treatment

1. Infusion from the grass stinking cornflower. Take 10 g of raw materials, pour one glass of water, insist 15 minutes, then strain. Eat one tablespoon per day (3-4 times) before eating.
2. Decoction of sowing millet. Take one glass of millet, pour in two cups of water in an enamel saucepan, cook until the croup is completely boiled. Apply to improve vision.
3. Decoction of herbs. Take equal shares of the leaves of the primrose, cranberries, blackberries, guelderies, forest raspberries, lemon balm and rhizome of the snake mountaineer (one teaspoon). Brew the resulting mixture in 0.35 liters of boiling water. Insist one hour. Take three times a day for half a glass.

Operative treatment

If hemorrhagia was caused by myopia, glaucoma, cataract, then, in some cases, it is difficult to do without surgical treatment. Sometimes refractive surgery is needed, which is based on the correction of corneal and retinal defects. If the night blindness caused pigmentary dystrophy, then in this case it is necessary to carry out transplantation. Glaucoma or cataracts are treated with lens replacement (laser eye surgery), which, of course, helps to cope with the night blindness.

Prevention

Prevention of night blindness is based on proper nutrition, timely treatment of eye diseases, 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's 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 in 40 minutes. In bright sunshine or in winter at ski resorts wear sunglasses.

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Forecast

Acquired night blindness in some cases can lead to a complete loss of vision, especially if the treatment of the underlying disease has not been done on time and correctly. Otherwise, if the diagnosis was made quickly, and the patient used all the recommendations, then the prognosis is favorable. It is possible to completely restore the adaptation of the retina to darkness and improve vision.

The essential kind of the disease is amenable to therapy easily and without special difficulties. Usually, after following all the recommendations of the right and therapeutic nutrition, the patient begins to see much better.

[30], [31]