Sometimes when the mind or body is exhausted, one can lose clarity in their vision; it can become blurred or even doubled. Some people suffer from double vision consistently in their lives; this condition is referred to as diplopia. Diplopia can cause headaches and other common ailments, and it takes the help of a studied Optometrist to treat the condition of double vision. Drs. at Virginia Vision Therapy Center are such specialists and believe that with some hard work, both children and adults can see tremendous results and a major life change. With offices in Manassas, Springfield, Fredericksburg, and Winchester, they strive to provide the best vision therapy treatments in the area. Drs. Tod Davis and Amy Carlyle have more than 30 years of experience helping both children and adults to turn vision disorders into functional vision through therapy, and they would love to meet you and help you achieve a major life change.
How Does Double Vision Occur?
Double vision can come into play in two different ways. Strabismus is the failure of both eyes to fuse images into one three dimensional picture to display for the mind. If one is plagued with strabismus, their eyes do not point at one object at the same time, causing double vision and the inability for the brain to digest one single picture. The second way that one can acquire the condition of double vision is if they have a refractive error that has not been corrected. When there is a refractive error in one’s vision, they view of an object is split into two images due to error in the optical system; this can be caused by astigmatism, keratoconus and cataracts.
What Trials Does Double Vision Cause?
In the case of double vision, the brain will block out one image that the mind is seeing in order to process the visual information that it receives. If this visual suppression occurs for a long period of time, especially in children, the visual system can become permanently impaired. When one eye becomes consistently suppressed it can become lazy, a common condition that is medically referred to as amblyopia. It can be difficult to treat the side effects of Strabismus as they are a physiological result of the brain working to correct the ailment.
How Can Double Vision Be Treated?
Before attempting to treat double vision, one must visit an Optometrist in order to find which condition is causing the vision to duplicate. If one suffers from Strabismus they may have to undergo surgical straightening of the eye, practice eye exercises or go through a combination of both treatments. Eye therapy or exercises are practiced with the goal of straightening the strabismic eye without surgery and in turn repair the visual pathway that is not properly connecting to the brain. If double vision is related to astigmatism a patient will be prescribed corrective lenses to alleviate their duplicate vision. If cataracts are present in the optical system then a patient will possibly be referred to cataract surgery in order to repair the issue.
Whichever cause or treatment is necessary to repair double vision, the guidance of an experienced Optometrist is necessary. Regular visits to an optometrist from the age of six months are ideal for attaining optimal eye health. If a patient has been visiting an eye doctor for regular checkups, then it is less likely that they will have to take part in surgery to correct their double vision problems.