Night Blindness: Common Deficiency in Truck Drivers

Driving long hours throughout many days, exposed to the blinding lights of others and lacking many conditions we assume as normal will inevitably affect our health. Truck drivers are no exception to the rule, and due to the nature of their jobs, several illnesses attempt to affect them.

One of the most common illnesses truck drivers develop is called night blindness. Night blindness is a condition that causes difficulties to see when driving in the evening or at night. Some of the symptoms are poor vision in reduced light conditions, and a longer period of time for the eyes to adjust to seeing in the dark.

When the vision has been worn out, there is not much left to do. Nevertheless, some conventional treatment options include a better diet with an increase in the intake of certain vitamins and nutrients. Truck drivers often depend on road restaurants and they do not look out much for their nutrition.

Night blindness is a signal of vitamin A deficiency. This deficiency results from a low diet in animal foods such as: dairy products, eggs, organ meats, fish, or fruits and/or vegetables containing beta-carotene. Moreover, this vision deficiency is also related with a lack of dietary zinc. When we lack zinc in our bodies, the activity of retinol dehydrogenase is reduced. Therefore, it is quite important that truck drivers start looking out for a balanced diet that will assure them a stable health state.