Double Vision

Double vision indicates an underlying problem with your eyes, nerves, or brain. If you develop double vision, expert ophthalmologist Elena Nguyen, MD, at ENvision Eye Care in Foster City, California, can help. Dr. Nguyen diagnoses the cause of your double vision and provides effective treatments for any eye problems that are responsible. Call ENvision Eye Care or schedule an appointment online today to successfully recover from double vision. 

What is double vision?

Double vision (diplopia) is where you see two images of a single object. It can affect one eye (monocular diplopia) or both eyes (binocular diplopia). You can tell which you have by covering each eye in turn when experiencing double vision.

With binocular diplopia, you’ll have double vision regardless of which eye you cover. With monocular diplopia, you’ll have double vision when looking through the affected eye or both eyes, but your vision will clear when covering the affected eye.

Binocular diplopia is the more common form.

What causes double vision?

Causes of monocular diplopia include:

• Dry eye
• Keratoconus (corneal shape changes)
• Severe astigmatism (abnormally shaped lens)
• Cataracts
• Pterygium (conjunctival growths)

Binocular diplopia develops when your eyes don’t work together. Possible causes include nerve damage due to injury or inflammation. Diabetes and high blood pressure can cause nerve damage, including paralyzing the nerves on the brain’s surface (cranial nerve palsy).

Neurologic and immune disorders like myasthenia gravis (which affects nerve and muscle communication) and Graves’ disease (overactive thyroid) can also cause binocular diplopia. 

Finding the cause helps Dr. Nguyen to create an effective, personalized treatment plan for you.

How is double vision diagnosed?

Determining whether you have monocular or binocular diplopia is usually straightforward, but discovering the underlying cause can be more challenging.

Dr. Nguyen asks about your symptoms and does a sight test. She also needs to know if you have any risk factors for double vision, such as relatives with the condition.

Blood tests might be necessary to diagnose problems like diabetes, thyroid disease, or neurological disorders causing double vision. Other tests that can help isolate the cause of double vision include:

• Dilated eye exam
• Eye movement tests
• Bloodwork 
• Imaging tests like CT scans or an MRI

ENvision Eye Care also uses sensorimotor exams to diagnose and manage double vision.

How is double vision treated?

Common treatments for double vision available at ENvision Eye Care include:

Corrective lenses

Special lenses, such as prisms etched into your eyeglasses, might correct your double vision.

Eye patch

Covering one eye may help with monocular diplopia. It’s a temporary solution, but it could help you manage while waiting for a more permanent answer.

Eye exercises

Double vision caused by strained or weakened eye muscles might improve with special exercises.

Surgery

Surgery might be necessary to correct physical issues such as cataracts. Dr. Nguyen can also perform eye muscle surgery to realign the eye muscles to their proper position.

To find the cause of your double vision and receive effective treatments, call ENvision Eye Care or book an appointment online today.