We all remember an excerpt from a film about Ivan Vasilyevich when Ulyana Andreevna, seeing her husband, exclaims: "And you will be cured, and I will be cured." In the case of our heroine, she suggested that she had double vision. In fact, at the Balzac age, this is far from a rare occurrence: with sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and tumors, one of the manifestations of the disease is precisely the double image.
And even in healthy people periodically begins to double in the eyes. A simple explanation is overwork, busting with alcohol, poisoning. In the morning you wake up and don’t know what kind of world you are, and then your wife doubles in the eyes in curlers and with a rolling pin ...
In fact, fun is only for those who do not suffer from this disease. This condition brings a lot of unpleasant moments to a person, he is poorly oriented in space, sees poorly, and his eyes seem to be torn apart from the inside.
Why is double vision?
The main reason is the curvature of the ocular axis. Normally, the image processing mechanism is as follows: a picture comes from the retina from both eyes, the visual analyzer superimposes them in the brain and the person sees a clear picture. And with diplopia, the picture doubles, since initially the image was projected by the lens of one of the eyes into the wrong place, the projection points do not coincide, therefore, a dubbing occurs in a person. Moreover, shifts are both on the horizontal axis and on the vertical.
There are several factors why double vision. The causes in the muscles, their weakness, due to which they can not keep the eye in a symmetrical position relative to each other. This phenomenon is commonly called strabismus. Moreover, it, in turn, can also be caused by a number of reasons. At what disease does it double in the eyes more often than strabismus? In fact, there are many pathologies:
- Paralysis after strokes, in which case the eye may generally lose its ability to move.
- Aneurysms.
- Head injuries.
- Tumors and hematomas, both intracranial, and tissues in close proximity to the organs of vision.
- The consequences of operations on the brain or eye.
"Bifurcation" can be caused by disruptions of the lens or optic nerve, their mechanical damage or weakening of blood vessels, in particular with diabetes mellitus, or metabolic disorders in the cells, most often with hyperthyroidism, which disrupts the conductivity of the ocular media.
Diplopia in case of poisoning or intoxication
In pure form, doubling without additional symptoms rarely occurs. Most often, this is a concomitant symptom of other diseases or pathologies: injuries, tumors of a different nature, vascular disorders, infectious meningitis, diphtheria or botulia.
Sometimes diplopia can be caused by poisoning or intoxication:
- Drugs or alcohol.
- Due to severe infections, meningitis for example.
- Violation of muscle conduction. An example is short-term diplopia after the Botox administration procedure, if the dosage has been exceeded. In this case, it is better to check the clinic where you decided to apply for an injection of beauty, because you can quickly turn from a beauty into a monster.
The first signs and symptoms
The first signs may occur with frequent dizziness, a person cannot correctly determine the distance to the subject, the picture is blurry, or one of them is brighter and the other is paler. Usually it’s difficult for a person to navigate in space, he can stumble on objects, “tear down” jambs at the doors.
The nature of the split image directly depends on which muscles are damaged or weakened. If obliques are affected, double vision will be vertical, that is, the object will be located one above the other, if the lines are parallel. Often this condition is expressed by severe pain in the eye, the eye loses mobility.
If it began to double in the eyes and there is a throbbing pain in the temples, this is a pressure drop. With hypertension, diplopia is accompanied by ripples and sudden darkening in the eyes.
With strabismus, diplopia is a constant companion. In this case, the patient’s eye is closed with glasses or special dressings, conservative treatment is prescribed: prismatic correction, gymnastics. Sometimes an operation is indicated, in particular a resection or recession of the eye muscles.
Types of Diplopia
Most often binocular diplopia occurs. This is a muscle disorder when the eyes are not symmetrical to each other. If you close your sore eye, then double vision stops.
This type of diplopia most often occurs if a person:
- Keratitis or corneal infections: refers to focal changes in the cornea, both postoperative and caused by acute inflammation.
- Cataract or clouding of the lens. It feels uncomfortable if a person reads something.
- Astigmatism. When the lens loses its ability to properly reflect light.
- Drying of the cornea. In this case, you can simply use drops of the type “artificial tear”.
- The displacement of the lens. Surgical intervention is necessary, since pathology with conservative treatment is irreversible.
Special cases of the disease
With monocular diplopia, a person even sees a double image when using one eye. The eye projects itself a double picture. Bifurcation, if you close a healthy eye, will not disappear. This happens with a dislocation of the lens, iridodialysis, as well as polycoria.
It occurs when the damage is not to the muscles, but to the nerves of the eyeball, clamps, infringements. It is congenital and acquired.
The following forms of monocular diplopia are distinguished:
- Refractive. Adjusted by wearing glasses.
- Retinal. There is a violation of the integrity of the retina due to inflammatory processes.
- Pupillary. Development is provoked if there are additional holes in the iris.
- Aberrational. The cornea or lens has a heterogeneous surface, which interferes with the correct transmission of the picture.
- Neurogenic. It develops with meningitis, neurosis, complex endocrine changes.
Sometimes it can be doubled in the eyes of a completely healthy person, if he looks at an object in the distance, a closer object can double. The brain usually “dampens” such focusing irregularities, and the person does not notice them.
However, with the manifestation of persistent double vision, it is necessary to undergo examinations.
Diagnostics
If the lesion is complex and double vision is not the main symptom, but only an echo of more serious problems, then the doctor will surely refer the person to a narrow specialist (neurologist, endocrinologist, neurosurgeon, rheumatologist or oncologist).
Typically, an examination of a person complaining of double vision includes the following tests:
- Coordinate measurement. It allows you to identify a malfunctioning muscle, establish the nature of its pathology.
- Studies related to the determination of visual acuity, muscle activity.
- Performing a motor analysis of the eyelids, which will determine their symmetry and muscle tone.
- Blood test for sugar.
- Brain MRI is sometimes prescribed.
- Test for muscle fatigue.
- Strabometry. Or measuring the angle of the squinting eye in linear terms using equipment.
Special attention of parents requires strabismus in children. Since over time the muscles atrophy, and the child without proper treatment will not be able to get rid of this defect.
Doubles in the eyes: treatment
Treatment options depend on the severity of the disease and its nature. If a person suffers from astigmatism and the disease does not manifest itself in any way, it will be enough just to prescribe corrective glasses. If tumors are the cause of double vision, the only way to relieve symptoms is to remove the neoplasm.
If it is assumed that the disease provoked an infection, then antibacterial drugs or antibiotics are prescribed. If the neurological nature - anti-stroke therapy is carried out, pressure-lowering tablets are prescribed, in case of thyroid disorders, a glucocorticosteroid course of therapy is prescribed. You can’t just come and say: “Doctor, I have double vision.” Treatment and causes should be sought based on a comprehensive examination of a person. It is not enough to exclude any one factor to solve the whole problem, usually it is a long way.
A sufficiently effective measure for treating the disease is special gymnastics for the eyes.
Partial Diplopia Eye Exercises
Such training is very simple. A man sits on a chair. On the wall you need to fix a white sheet, you can whatman. It is necessary to draw a vertical strip on it. The main task is to focus as clearly as possible on the line.
At the second stage, it is necessary, without taking your eyes off, to turn your head now in one direction, then in the other. In this case, you do not need to look away from the subject.
The exercise must be repeated regularly. If a person does not see improvements, then, most likely, surgical intervention is necessary.
Folk remedies
Tinctures and vitamin fees can be another effective treatment for mild forms of diplopia. The advantage of herbal treatments is that they are always at hand.
- Tincture of lavender leaves, valerian and wine. Chop the leaves of lavender, add a drop of valerian and a glass of white wine. Leave to insist for three days. Stir fluid during this day. Drink tincture before meals on a spoon.
- An interesting effect is given by pollen (provided that there is no allergy to it). It is recommended to collect it and take it in a spoon for a month.
- Vitamin collection of rose hips and viburnum. From the berries it is necessary to cook the infusion, boil for 15 minutes. Strain and drink chilled one hundred grams in the morning and evening before eating.
Traditional medicine is only an auxiliary measure and in no case the main therapeutic agent.
It's important to know
The peculiarity of the disease is that it most often occurs suddenly. It’s extremely difficult to somehow protect yourself from this, especially if you are at risk. In this case, regular checkups of the organs of vision may be the only way to help avoid such an extremely unpleasant symptom.