Do you find that you struggle to see at night? In the daytime, your vision might be reasonably clear, but as soon as the sun starts setting, your vision may get blurry. In most cases, this symptom—which is known as night blindness—is caused by one of the three following conditions, each of which has its own treatment protocol.

Cataracts

Cataracts occur when the proteins that form the lens of the eye start to deform in a specific way. As a result, the lens becomes cloudy, rather than clear. Cataracts start off as pretty minor, and one of the first symptoms people notice is trouble seeing at night. At this stage, the eyes still tend to look normal, and day vision is normal, too. Over time, cataracts get worse, until eventually the surface of the eye looks cloudy and your day vision is blurry, too.

There's no cure for cataracts, but there are treatments that can help slow down their progression. Your eye doctor will likely recommend omega-3 fatty acid supplements, avoiding alcohol, and avoiding UV exposure. This won't help you see at night again, but it will help ensure you can keep seeing in the daytime. If and when your cataracts do progress to the point that they're impeding your daytime vision, you can have surgery to replace your cloudy lenses.

Vitamin A Deficiency

A vitamin A deficiency can notoriously cause trouble seeing at night. Luckily, such a deficiency is easy to diagnose with a blood test. The treatment is also simple; you can take oral vitamin A supplements. As your levels of vitamin A rise again, your night vision should improve. Over time, eating more vitamin-A rich foods, like carrots and sweet potatoes, may keep your vitamin A levels up and prevent this from happening again.

Nearsightedness

Another possibility is that you are nearsighted. In other words, you can see things close to you easily, but you can't see things that are further away clearly. Your vision may be slightly impeded during the daytime, but you don't really realize it because the abundant light makes it possible for you to navigate the world anyway. After the sun sets, though, it can be really obvious that you can't see well. Nearsightedness is easily managed by wearing glasses or contacts. Or you can have a similar laser vision corrective surgery.

If you can't see well at night, talk to your eye doctor. They can easily determine whether a vitamin A deficiency, nearsightedness, or cataracts are to blame and then recommend the necessary treatment. Contact a vision treatment service for more information.