Is night time blindness a thing?

[Anonymous]

So I have a friend who I am pretty sure has anxiety but is in denial.
She lives in DC and says she cant see at night so cant drive anywhere. Then she says how lonely she is, She will walk at night though, so can obviously see in the dark.
I think she is nervous about driving at night and it has gone on so long she really believes she cant do it.
She says she has night blindness and therefore cant drive. I dont get how you can see to walk but not to drive.

[Anonymous]

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003039.htm

[Anonymous]

I read the above link. So if you had it, it would affect you all the time, not just while driving.
Now I need to find a way to bring it up so i can send her the link.

[Anonymous]

I'm 43 and my night vision is pretty bad. The oncoming headlights make it difficult for me to see as well.

The truth is I'm a danger to other people on the road after dark. I drive too slow and cautiously for this area.

So unless it's really important I don't drive after dark. And when I do, my kids know it has to be complete silence in the car for the duration of the trip. My friends also know about my lack of vision at night and they are more than happy to drive if we're all going somewhere.

I've never been dx'd with night blindness so I don't know if it's a true condition or not.

[Anonymous]

Yes, night blindness makes driving more difficult/dangerous. I have it along with MGD. Other vision problems also cause night blindness, as does aging.

Walking at night isn't such a problem, but driving at night with oncoming headlights blinding you is very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the above link. So if you had it, it would affect you all the time, not just while driving.
Now I need to find a way to bring it up so i can send her the link.

I have vision issues that prevent me from driving. I can still see well enough to walk around. The vision you need to pass a driver's test or to safely drive is more precise than the vision you need to walk around.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend, competent and intelligent in every way, who refuses to drive at night.

[Anonymous]

You're an idiot.

Yes, night blindness is a real thing.

I hope someday you have an invisible health issue and see what it feels like when people don't believe you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I have a friend who I am pretty sure has anxiety but is in denial.
She lives in DC and says she cant see at night so cant drive anywhere. Then she says how lonely she is, She will walk at night though, so can obviously see in the dark.
I think she is nervous about driving at night and it has gone on so long she really believes she cant do it.
She says she has night blindness and therefore cant drive. I dont get how you can see to walk but not to drive.

I had it through childhood and adulthood. It came and went in one eye and then the other. At night I would cover one eye and look and then swap eyes and what I would see with the affected eye would be about 70% blacked/ shaded out.

I asked an eye doctor one time about it. He looked in my eyes and simply said 'you don't have that' .
Not helpful.

I am in my 40's now and it hasn't been an issue for about 10 years.
I'm not sure why but have you had your vitamin A checked? Can you take supplements?
I remember reading once that a deficiency can cause night blindness. They was probably my issue since it reversed itself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I have a friend who I am pretty sure has anxiety but is in denial.
She lives in DC and says she cant see at night so cant drive anywhere. Then she says how lonely she is, She will walk at night though, so can obviously see in the dark.
I think she is nervous about driving at night and it has gone on so long she really believes she cant do it.
She says she has night blindness and therefore cant drive. I dont get how you can see to walk but not to drive.

I had it through childhood and adulthood. It came and went in one eye and then the other. At night I would cover one eye and look and then swap eyes and what I would see with the affected eye would be about 70% blacked/ shaded out.

I asked an eye doctor one time about it. He looked in my eyes and simply said 'you don't have that' .
Not helpful.

I am in my 40's now and it hasn't been an issue for about 10 years.
I'm not sure why but have you had your vitamin A checked? Can you take supplements?
I remember reading once that a deficiency can cause night blindness. They was probably my issue since it reversed itself

Here is a link for that
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_A_deficiency

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the above link. So if you had it, it would affect you all the time, not just while driving.
Now I need to find a way to bring it up so i can send her the link.

Does she wear glasses? Getting her prescription updated would probably help.

Everyone's night vision erodes over time. How old is she?

[Anonymous]

There are many many conditions that might result in a person describing 'night blindness' for the purposes of casual conversation. 'Daylight driving only' is a driver's license restriction in many (most? all? I don't know) states because of a variety of sight conditions that limit vision in night driving conditions. Dark/night isn't necessarily the problem. The combination of dark + very bright lights results in poor vision for folks with a variety of conditions (permanent damage from optic neuritis in my case). It would be unsafe for me to operate a motor vehicle in the dark but that's about my only limitation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
She says she has night blindness and therefore cant drive. I dont get how you can see to walk but not to drive.

I have night blindness. I can see in the semi-dark, but I cannot see well. It is difficult to read street signs, it is difficult to see upcoming turns that aren't marked very well, and so on. I can drive very slowly and be more likely to see these things, but it would not be safe because I would be so focused on trying to see what I'm looking for that I wouldn't be paying enough attention to driving.

However, when I am walking, I am moving slower than when I'm driving. Hard to believe, isn't it? And when I'm walking slower, I have more time to be aware of things like uneven ground or upcoming streets. I can even, without causing danger to myself or others, stop for a few moments if I need to read a street sign.

I think if you take a moment to consider the differences between driving and walking, you might be able to come up with some excellent reasons why someone would be ok with walking but not ok with driving if they suffer with night blindness.

[Anonymous]

I have issues with glare due to cataracts. (I am young.) I still drive at night but rainy nights in particular are stressful for me due to this condition and how the cataracts scatter light.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone, I still think most of her issues are because shes nervous but I see now why walking in the dark is possible but not driving.