Questions Your Doctor May Ask - and Why!
During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in his assesment of the symptom: Night blindness.
These may include a physical examination or other medical tests.
Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing
your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information
you can share with your doctor may help them with their diagnosis.
Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:
- How long have you had night blindness?
Why: to determine if acute or chronic.
- Is your vision during the day also affected?
- Past medical history?
Why: e.g. diabetes increases risk of cataracts which cause degraded night vision; cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, nephrotic syndrome and cirrhosis of the liver may cause Vitamin A deficiency and night blindness.
- Past surgical history?
Why: e.g. intestinal bypass surgery may cause Vitamin A deficiency.
- Past refractive error?
Why: e.g. myopia (short-sightedness) people are at increase risk of macula degeneration which may cause degraded night vision.
- Dietary history?
Why: e.g. In some developing countries vitamin A deficiency is a major cause of blindness in the young due to a failure to incorporate green leafy vegetables or other sources of vitamin A into the diet.
- Family history?
Why: of Diabetes, Retinitis pigmentosa.
- Sexual history?
Why: e.g. syphilitic retinitis causes vision that is worse at night or in the dim light.
Questions your doctor may ask about related symptoms:
Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse
your condition. These may include:
- Colored haloes around lights?
Why: suggests cataracts.
- Distortion of vision?
Why: e.g. seeing objects smaller or larger than actual - suggests macula degeneration.
- Diarrhea?
Why: may suggest malabsorption and vitamin A deficiency as a cause of night blindness.
- Symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa?
Why: e.g. increasing difficulties with night vision with concentric loss of peripheral visual fields. Central vision may be retained. Usually has a family history of the condition.
- Symptoms of Vitamin A deficiency?
Why: e.g. night blindness is the earliest symptoms of vitamin A deficiency. Later symptoms include dry eyes, eye pain (due to ulcer formation) and blindness. May also have dryness of the skin.
» Next page: News about Night blindness
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