es inside the head. The earliest signs are often double vision and drooping eyelids, or ptosis.
- Graves’ disease is a thyroid condition that affects the muscles of the eyes. Graves’ disease commonly causes vertical diplopia. With vertical diplopia, one image is on top of the other.
- Nerve problems. Several different conditions can damage the nerves that control eye muscles and lead to double vision
- Multiple sclerosis can affect nerves anywhere in the brain or spinal cord. If the nerves controlling the eyes are damaged, double vision can result.
- Guillain-Barre syndrome is a nerve condition that causes progressive weakness. Sometimes, the first symptoms occur in the eyes and cause double vision.
- Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to nerve damage in one of the eyes, causing eye weakness and double vision.
The nerves controlling the eyes connect directly to the brain, and visual processing occurs there as the brain makes sense of the image generated. Any of the following issues-and these are all SERIOUS issues-will cause double vision. They include:
- Increased pressure inside the brain from trauma, bleeding, or infection
- Brain tumours
- Migraine headaches
What Are the Symptoms of Double Vision?
Double vision can occur by itself with no other symptoms. Depending on the cause, other symptoms may be present with double vision, such as:
- Misalignment of one or both eyes (a “wandering eye” or “cross-eyed” appearance)
- Pain with eye movements in one or both eyes
- Pain around the eyes, such as in the temples or eyebrows
- Weakness in the eyes or anywhere else
- Droopy eyelids
What Should I do?
Double vision that’s new or unexplained needs medical attention right away. With so many potentially serious causes for double vision, it’s important to discover the reason without delay.
Once you have established the cause of your double vision, see if you might be a candidate for Laser Eye Surgery which can help in cases of astigmatism or other refractive errors by reshaping the cornea using laser.
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