Diplopia: Double Vision Causes & Treatment

Diplopia is the medical term for double vision. Double vision is when you are seeing double of a single object you are looking at. Double vision is very common. It is actually one of the most common reasons people go to the emergency room. Diplopia can occur to anyone, but it is most common in people over the age of sixty. Diplopia is usually temporary and sometimes will resolve on its own. You can have diplopia in one or both of your eyes.

Signs

Sometimes the first sign of diplopia is seeing double of something. You may also experience symptoms like pain when you move your eye, pain around your eye, or droopy eyelids. Diplopia can also cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, and weakness in your eyes.

Types

There are different types of diplopia when you go to the eye doctor they may classify your double vision.

Monocular diplopia is the most common. It is when you have double vision that only occurs when you close or cover one eye.
Binocular diplopia is usually more serious. It is when you experience double vision when both eyes are open, and usually goes away if you cover up one of your eyes. This is usually caused by a health condition or your eyes are out of alignment.
Vertical diplopia is when the extra image you are seeing is about or below the true vision.
Horizontal diplopia is when you are seeing double images side by side.
Transient diplopia is when your double vision comes and goes. You may have it one day but the next you have normal vision. This can be caused by fatigue.

Causes

Causes of diplopia can range from problems with the brain, eyes, nerves, or muscles. Common causes are astigmatism, nearsightedness, farsightedness, poor fitting eyewear, cataracts, dry eye syndrome, migraines, abnormalities in the iris, or head injuries. If you have diplopia due to a problem in your cornea the most likely causes are astigmatism, dry eyes, shingles infection, or scars. Diplopia caused by problems with your lens, which works with the cornea to focus incoming light onto the retina, is most commonly due to cataracts. Eye muscle problems that cause double vision are usually caused by conditions such as Grave’s disease, which is a thyroid disease, or strabismus which is when your eyes are misaligned. Nerve problems that cause diplopia are diabetes, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, or multiple sclerosis. Brain problems include brain aneurysm, brain tumor, migraine, pressure built up in the brain, or stroke. Giant cell arteritis can also cause double vision. This condition is caused by the arteries near the temples becoming inflamed. Other symptoms that you can experience with giant cell arteritis are vision loss, blurred vision, double vision, dizziness, persistent headaches, and fatigue.

Diagnosis

If you experience double vision you should make an appointment with your eye doctor. Usually with an eye exam and a visual acuity test your doctor will be able to diagnose the cause of your double vision. If you have monocular diplopia your doctor may not make you do any more tests. If you have binocular diplopia they may suggest getting an MRI, CT scan, and blood tests done as well. These tests will help them identify issues with your bones, muscles, brain, or spine that could be causing your diplopia.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the severity of the double vision. It also depends on the cause. Sometimes treating the underlying problem can be all the treatment you need to get rid of the double vision. For instance managing your diabetes, or medications for Grave’s disease can help get rid of double vision as a symptom from these two health conditions. In some cases double vision will resolve on its own and no treatment will be needed. Easy treatments like new glasses prescriptions, eye drops, covering one eye for a certain amount of time, or special contact lenses.

There are things in your lifestyle that you can do that can also help get rid of double vision. Make sure you are managing stress. You need to be getting good quality and adequate amounts of sleep. Make sure you are practicing good eye hygiene. Limit screen time. Increase the font size when you read something digitally. Avoid activities that strain your eyes.

Prevention

You cannot prevent getting double vision. Thankfully diplopia is usually short term and can resolve on its own. It is important that no matter how severe your double vision is, if you experience any kind of double vision to get your eyes checked by a doctor. There may be underlying conditions that are causing your double vision that leaving them unchecked can be detrimental to your health. If your double vision comes and goes it is still important to get checked out by a health professional. They will be able to help you come up with a treatment plan to help lessen the side effects of double vision. While having double vision do not operate or handle heavy machinery. It can change your depth perception as well as delay your reaction time, putting you and others in danger.