Are you experiencing vision problems in low-light conditions? Night vision issues can significantly impact your life, from making it difficult to enjoy a night out on the town with friends to preventing you from being able to drive to your home or place of work.
Effective treatment for night vision issues hinges on understanding the root cause of your symptoms and getting an accurate diagnosis from your eye doctor. Keep reading to learn more about what causes night vision issues and what treatment options could be right for you.
What Causes Blurry Vision at Night?
Night vision issues can be caused by a variety of eye conditions, including:
Nearsightedness
Nearsightedness is a refractive error that occurs when light focuses on the front of the retina rather than the center, causing difficulty focusing on distant objects. This can be even more enhanced at night, especially while driving.
You may find it challenging to see dimly lit speed limit signs or struggle to navigate street names. If you’re attending an evening event, such as a concert, play, or comedy show, your view of the stage may be blurry, preventing you from fully enjoying it.
Farsightedness
Farsightedness is a refractive error that causes up-close objects to be out of focus. It happens when light hits the back of the retina rather than the center.
This can make it challenging to do things at night, such as browsing a restaurant menu or reading a book to wind down for the evening. Age-related farsightedness, also known as presbyopia, can cause similar symptoms.
It happens when your natural lens loses flexibility over time, limiting your ability to see clearly at close distances.
Astigmatism
Astigmatism is a refractive error that typically presents with nearsightedness or farsightedness, where light hits multiple points on the retina, causing blurry vision. At night, astigmatism can worsen significantly, causing oncoming headlights to appear distorted or your surroundings to seem even blurrier than usual.
Cataracts
Cataracts are a common eye condition that occurs when proteins within the natural lens begin to break down and form clumps, which can affect your vision. Some symptoms of cataracts include decreased contrast sensitivity, blurry vision, halos and glares, and scattered light, all of which can worsen at night and make it difficult to drive, read, or navigate in low-light conditions.
How Can You Improve Night Vision?
While night vision issues can be incredibly frustrating, the good news is that most of them can be effectively treated. The first step in improving your night vision is attending a comprehensive eye exam with your eye doctor at Hayden Vision.
They will ask you questions about your symptoms and medical history, and then perform a series of tests to diagnose your condition. Depending on what is causing your night vision issues, they can recommend a personalized treatment plan, which may include:
Cataract Surgery
If you’re experiencing vision problems at night due to cataracts, your eye doctor may recommend cataract surgery. This procedure involves removing the clouded natural lens and replacing it with an IOL (intraocular lens).
This IOL is clear and free of cataracts, enabling you to see better both during the day and at night. IOLs can also correct vision issues such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia, improving your visual acuity and making it easier to perform all your favorite activities, regardless of the time of day.
Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE)
Refractive lens exchange (RLE) is a modern vision correction procedure that is almost identical to cataract surgery, where the natural lens is removed and replaced with an IOL. However, it is performed before cataracts have formed or only in patients with early cataracts to correct problems like presbyopia, astigmatism, nearsightedness, and farsightedness.
It is often recommended as an alternative to LASIK for vision correction for patients over 40, those with presbyopia, or individuals who want to prevent the development of cataracts in the future. Premium IOLs offered at Hayden Vision include the PanOptix trifocal lens, toric lenses, and the ReSTOR, Symfony, and TECNIS multifocal lenses.
Each of these IOLs offers different vision benefits for different patients. At your pre-operative consultation, your eye doctor will review these options with you and recommend the best IOL to suit your vision needs and goals.
EVO ICL
EVO ICL is another modern vision correction procedure that can correct nearsightedness and astigmatism. It involves placing an implantable collamer lens between the iris and the natural lens of your eye, which seamlessly integrates with your eye to provide crisp, clear vision.
The EVO ICL is particularly effective for addressing night vision issues because the lens is biocompatible with the eye, allowing it to function naturally in conjunction with the eye’s structure. This procedure is completely reversible and minimally invasive, taking only about 20-30 minutes to complete.
Recovery time is typically very short, often just one to two days. Many patients with severe nearsightedness or astigmatism find that EVO ICL significantly improves their night vision, as it does not cause the glare or halos that can sometimes occur with other procedures.
It is often recommended as an alternative to LASIK, particularly for patients with thin corneas, dry eyes, or severe nearsightedness that affects their ability to see clearly at night.
Improve Your Night Vision with Treatments at Hayden Vision
Don’t let night vision issues continue to limit your life. The expert team at Hayden Vision will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan that addresses your specific night vision challenges and helps you achieve the visual freedom you deserve.
Schedule an appointment at Hayden Vision in Evansville, IN, today to learn more about how treatments like cataract surgery and modern vision correction procedures can help you see clearly day and night.