Double vision, also known as diplopia, can be temporary or the result of underlying health conditions. Your eyesight may be split into horizontal, vertical, or diagonal positions. It is critical to express concern about the condition because it could be an early indicator of a serious health problem in other sections of the body.

Double vision refers to seeing two images instead of one. To see normally, your eyes, the muscles that move them, the nerves that transmit images to your brain, and your brain must all operate together. A malfunction with any of these components can result in double vision.

It can occur in one or both eyes, impacting balancing, movement and reading ability.

You may experience the following symptoms when you start seeing double images:

1. Droopy Eyes
2. Headache
3. Misalignment of eyes
4. Pain around eyes, near temple or eyebrows
5. Weakness in eyes
6. Pain during eye movement 
7. Nausea

If you feel double vision, seek the advice of an eye specialist as soon as possible.

Diplopia can be broadly classified into two categories:

1. Monocular Diplopia
2. Binocular Diplopia

Monocular diplopia occurs when a person has double vision, commonly as a ghost image, even with one eye closed. Monocular diplopia can result from a variety of factors, including:

1. Astigmatism is a refractive defect (similar to nearsightedness or farsightedness) that alters how your eyes bend light. This can cause blurred or double vision from any distance.
2. Cataracts create clouding of the eye’s lens caused by ageing, smoking, diabetes, and steroid drug use. Monocular diplopia can occur when a fuzzy film covers only one eye’s lens.
3. Dry eyes occur when your eyes do not produce enough tears to keep them moist, moving and blinking them might cause itching or stinging, as well as blurred or double vision.
4. Pterygium formation is a lump or growth on the eyeball caused by the thickening of the mucous membrane that lines the whites of the eyes. If the lump spreads to the cornea, double vision may occur.
5. Lens dislocation due to trauma can rupture the ligaments that hold the eye’s lens in place. This allows the lens to wander around and become misaligned, causing double vision.

Keratoconus is a condition in which the cornea thins abnormally and bulges forward, resulting in double vision. Keratoconus can affect one or both eyes and is usually caused by inheritance or rubbing.

Binocular or bilateral double vision affects both eyes, the root cause of the binocular vision is the misalignment of eyes. It can result when:

1. The muscles around the eyes are not properly developed or are weak. This disorder highly impacts the cranial nerves controlling the extra orbital muscles.
2. The extraocular muscles that control the direction of the eye are damaged or weak. It results in poor focus and tracking.
3. Dry eyes can also result in binocular diplopia as the tears in the eye dry up resulting in soreness and inflammation.
4. Deficiency of important vitamins such as vitamin B12, vitamin C, or zinc in your diet.
5. Damage to the cranial nerve that controls the eye muscles due to health-related issues (Diabetes, Hypertension, or inflammation) or injury.

Anyone can face the problem of double vision, but it is most common in old age people above 60 years of age. If you have these health issues and are facing double vision problem it is a great concern for your health:

1. Myasthenia gravis
2. Vertigo
3. Brain aneurysms
4. Strokes
5. Diabetes or Diabetic Retinopathy
6. Vitamin B1 deficiency
7. Thyroid disease
8. Multiple sclerosis (MS)

If you face the issue of double vision you must seek expert advice. The eye specialist will take the test (Eye examination & Visual Acuity Test) and find the reason behind it. If you are suffering from monocular diplopia you will likely need no more tests, but for binocular diplopia, you have to go for further examination including MRI, CT Scan or blood test to check the issue with eye bones, muscles or brain.

In most cases, the problem goes on its own, but a medical intervention is important to know the reason. Sometimes glasses or contact lenses can be used to fix the problem. The patient is required to wear glasses or lenses and use only one eye to see to improve vision.

At MM Joshi Eye Institute we have a team of specialized surgeons who can easily diagnose the problem of double vision and provide you with the best treatment with the latest technology equipment and an experienced team.