I Enjoyed Nighttime Driving. Then, a Uncommon Condition Altered Everything.

      Abdulrhman via Getty Images

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      The night my vision changed, I was driving home from my girlfriend’s house. The lights appeared as cloudy streaks; the letters and numbers on green highway signs repeated in trails, resembling the confusion you feel when waking up extremely dehydrated, fully aware of how dry your eyes are. Normally, in such situations, I would rub my eyes, but since I was wearing contacts and didn’t have a backup pair of glasses, that wasn’t an option. Blinking didn’t help to restore my vision. After about 40 minutes of driving, I reached home and went to bed, reassuring myself that my eyes would feel better in the morning. Why wouldn’t they?

      It’s been three-and-a-half years since that night, and my eyes still feel off. Treating them has involved so many doctor appointments that I’ve lost track, and I've used eye drops made from my own blood, which aren’t covered by insurance. But that’s getting ahead of the story. I’ve enjoyed night driving ever since I got my license. Although it has become less enjoyable due to the rise of LED headlights and the prevalence of large trucks, this condition has largely ruined one of my favorite pastimes.

      When I woke up the following morning, I didn’t immediately notice anything was wrong until I sat down at my desk to write. Had my monitor always been this bright? Why did just looking at it cause a headache? It was clear that I needed a break for my eyes, so I stepped outside for a walk. Breaks didn’t help, and after several days of this, I realized something serious was wrong.

      Driving home that first night felt somewhat like this. Mint Images via Getty Images

      My Nerves Are Upset

      What I eventually learned, after several incorrect diagnoses, was that I had corneal neuropathy. Confocal imaging with a special microscope revealed a concerning lack of nerve endings on the surface of my eye. Normally, nerve endings appear as somewhat straight squiggles, but mine were faint, twisted, or clustered irregularly; these nerve endings had responded to whatever trauma my eyes had experienced by regrowing improperly. In simpler terms, as one of my ophthalmologists put it, the nerves in my eyes were “upset.”

      Corneal neuropathy, like other types of neuropathy, manifests in unique ways for each person since the human body is unpredictably complex. If you’re in search of more reasons to feel down daily, take a look at the r/dryeye subreddit. There, you’ll find individuals suffering from classic dry eye syndrome, which can be debilitating in its own right; three doctors diagnosed me with it, noting I was far too young for such a diagnosis. Others in that community face relentless, severe pain despite having fully functional tear ducts, which sometimes coincide with cluster headaches. Corneal neuropathy goes by various names, one of which is neuropathic dry eye; a patient may feel as though their eyes are dry, even when all medical evaluations suggest they are not.

      Luckily, my neuropathy does not come with debilitating pain. My eyes can feel gritty much of the time, but generally, it’s a minor annoyance I can manage by wearing glasses instead of contacts and using over-the-counter eye drops generously. Unfortunately, it does cause a persistent sensitivity to strong, artificial light, more so than even bright sunlight. This is why I’m sharing my experience on The Drive, rather than in a case study for The American Journal of Ophthalmology. But if you look closely on Reddit, you might find my story there too.

      This Used to Be Enjoyable

      You’ve probably noticed how bright modern headlights are. They are so intensely bright that even those with healthier eyes than mine are frustrated. The problem is twofold. First, today’s LED headlights are indeed brighter and emit cooler light than the halogen lamps from 20 years ago. However, car design also plays a significant role. As vehicles have become larger and ride higher, their headlights, which once primarily illuminated the path ahead, now shine directly into the eyes of anyone in a smaller, lower vehicle. You could counter this by driving a larger car, but that doesn’t effectively resolve the issue, and enthusiasts prefer to drive what they love.

      What this means is that many people are finding it increasingly frustrating to drive at night. For those suffering from dry eyes, real or otherwise, the challenge is even more pronounced. Teenagers cherish the freedom of driving once they receive their learner’s permits, but eventually, one comes to see a car as a means to move anywhere, at any time—restricted only by distance and fatigue.

      But when every streetlamp emits a blurry light; when every road sign appears slightly less defined; when you struggle to adjust the dimness of your interior lights; when you must create a significant distance before on