Diplopia- Know its causes and symptoms.

Diplopia is also known as double vision. It is a serious condition of the eyes and it must not go untreated. In diplopia , a person views two images of  a single object. Treating it at the right time. Frequent headaches and pain in the eyes while moving  may be early signs of diplopia

Causes of Diplopia

There are several causes that may cause diplopia. We have listed a few;

1. Infections in the cornea such as herpes zoster, shingles, and dryness can cause the light entering the eyes to be distorted which causes diplopia.

2. Cataracts may also be responsible for double images

3. Muscle problems of the eyes such as myasthenia gravis and graves’ disease can develop into diplopia.

4. Multiple sclerosis, Guillan –Barre syndrome and diabetes cause damage to the nerves thereby affecting the vision.

5. Problems associated with the brain such as strokes, migranes ,brain tumours or aneurysms may also cause double vision.

Symptoms of Diplopia

1.       Eyes appearing to be “cross” or a misalignment of one or both the eyes

2.       Pain around in the temples or eyebrows

3.       Pain during movement of the eyes

4.       Headaches

5.       Nausea

6.       Droopy eyelids

Treatment

To reduce double vision, the patient may be advised to wear an eye patch or prism glasses.

It is highly recommended that one consult an ophthalmologist immediately if he/she develops any of the above symptoms and get it treated at the earliest.