Treatment for double vision

Elimination of visual defect is achieved by many methods, the use of which depends on the established cause of the pathology. What to do with double vision should be explained by the attending physician. If diplopia is caused by a general disease, then its treatment is carried out by neurologists, endocrinologists, rheumatologists, psychiatrists and other specialists depending on the established diagnosis. In most cases, treatment of the underlying disease leads to restoration of binocular vision.

If eye diseases are detected, treatment is performed by an ophthalmologist. The most common causes of this vision defect are dry eye syndrome (xerophthalmia) and inflammation: conjunctivitis, meiobitis (stye), keratitis and other eye diseases, often caused by infectious agents.

Drops for diplopia must be prescribed by a doctor. Such drugs may have antiseptic properties and contain anti-inflammatory drugs, they should not be used independently, as you can harm yourself and worsen your vision.

For inflammations of infectious origin, drops with antibiotics, antiviral or antifungal components are prescribed.

For example, L-Optik Rompharm drops can be prescribed for bacterial infections. Their active component Levofloxacin hemihydrate has a very broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against almost all gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria that cause inflammation in the eyes. It inhibits the enzymatic activity of catalysts of the bacterial DNA replication process. However, this drug is not used for viral or fungal infections. It is not prescribed for patients with sensitization to quinolone antibiotics. It can be prescribed to children over one year old, and, if indicated, to women during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The dosage is prescribed by a doctor. If there are no other prescriptions, one or two drops can be instilled every two hours. During the first two days, the eye can be treated in this way up to eight times daily. Then they switch to four-time instillation.

If eye irritation is caused by an allergic reaction, the doctor may prescribe antiallergic drops, such as Vizin Allergy. The antihistamine component levocabastine hydrochloride blocks histamine H1 receptors for up to half a day, eliminating the symptoms of allergic inflammation. It is prescribed to patients aged twelve and over who are not sensitized to the active component. It is not recommended for people wearing contact lenses, as well as pregnant women (only for vital indications) and nursing women. One drop should be instilled into each eye two to four times a day.

In case of viral keratitis, uveitis, conjunctivitis including corneal ulceration, Oftalmoferon can be prescribed. Eye drops based on human interferon have the ability to increase immunity, due to which inflammation is reduced, regeneration of damaged tissues is accelerated and unpleasant symptoms are eliminated. The drops practically do not cause side effects, the only contraindication to their prescription is the known sensitization of the patient. During the period of exacerbation, the drug is instilled one or two drops six to eight times daily, when the patient's condition improves, the frequency is reduced to two or three times. Treatment is continued until the symptoms disappear.

In case of xerophthalmia, Artelac drops based on hypromellase are prescribed to moisten the cornea, compensate for mucin deficiency, eliminate irritation, pain, and hyperemia. The drops are not prescribed to children and sensitized patients. After instillation, it is necessary to distribute the liquid evenly by moving the eyes from side to side. It should be taken into account that for some time after application, vision may be blurred, so you should get behind the wheel of a car when clarity is restored. Artelac is instilled one drop in each eye, the frequency and duration of treatment is prescribed individually for each patient.

Taurine drops normalize osmotic pressure, eliminate metabolic disorders, stimulate protein synthesis, and normalize innervation. They are prescribed for the regeneration of damaged tissues and the normalization of their functions in case of eye injuries, retinal and corneal dystrophy, keratitis, cataracts, and also in the complex therapy of glaucoma.

In the postoperative period, it accelerates healing. After work associated with high visual stress, it restores the working capacity of the eyes. Not used in childhood, allergic reactions are possible. Before use, it is recommended to warm the contents of the bottle by holding it in your hands for some time.

Treatment regimens and duration of use should be prescribed by a doctor individually depending on the diagnosis.

In the treatment of diplopia, prismatic vision correction is used, achieved by wearing special glasses. Such treatment can eliminate double vision directly in front of the eyes or when looking down. It is useful to combine it with physiological - performing various exercises that train the extraocular muscles, restore the ability to merge images, expand the field of single vision.

Vitamins are widely used in the treatment of diplopia. They are prescribed in combination with drops, exercises, wearing special glasses, in the postoperative period. In the case of computer vision syndrome, xerophthalmia, eye fatigue, it is quite possible to get by with vitamin therapy alone.

There are many complex vitamin preparations, some of them are made on a natural basis and are used for the prevention and treatment of eye diseases. They are recommended for decreased visual acuity, especially at night, photophobia, in professions associated with great visual strain, eye fatigue, the development of myopia, hyperopia, glaucoma, cataracts, after eye surgery.

Ofta-biol, a preparation in tablet form. Provides nutrition to the cells of the structural elements of the eyes, improves blood circulation in the vessels of the eye, strengthens the walls of arterioles and capillaries, strengthens the immune system. The composition of the preparation: sea buckthorn and blueberry berries, its shoots, carrot and sunflower seeds, dandelion root, rosemary and nettle leaves, as well as β-carotene.

Complexes with lutein, a natural carotenoid naturally found in chicken and quail eggs, orange and red berries and fruits, and dark green leafy vegetables, are also used to improve vision. This substance, accumulating in the retina, protects it from the harmful effects of sunlight, wind, dust, dry air, and age-related changes. It is also found in the iris, blood vessels, lens, and ciliary body, so preparations with lutein are recommended for diplopia of various origins.

Physiotherapeutic treatment is aimed at strengthening the eye muscles and ensuring their activity. Therefore, in case of paresis and paralysis of the oculomotor muscles, their weakness, especially in the ocular form of myasthenia, strabismus of various origins, in the postoperative period, electrical stimulation of the extraocular muscles and oculomotor nerves, biomechanical and laser stimulation, bioresonance therapy are most often used. The choice of treatment methods depends on the underlying disease and is designed to improve ophthalmotonus, blood circulation and metabolism in the eyes.

Folk remedies

If double vision is not caused by infections, organic pathologies, serious injuries or general diseases, then traditional medicine recipes can help to restore the normal condition of the eyes quite quickly.

Compresses made from tea leaves, cucumber slices, and herbal infusions help to relieve the effects of visual strain. During the procedure, the eyes will not only be moisturized, but also rested.

It is known that double vision can be treated with propolis. This beekeeping product copes with diseases of various origins. In case of injuries, it accelerates healing, prevents infection and inflammation. In case of infection, it destroys pathogenic microorganisms, strengthens the immune system, eliminates toxins and promotes cell renewal. In case of deficiency conditions, it replenishes the lack of vitamins and microelements, relieves tension and fatigue, eliminates dryness.

An aqueous solution of propolis is used to treat the eyes. To prepare it, take 10 g of crushed native propolis (it is better to crush a piece frozen in the freezer), place it in a thermos and pour in 100 ml of filtered and settled water heated to 50 ℃. During infusion, shake the container constantly. It is recommended to infuse for at least a day (it is possible and longer - up to three). Then, while warm, strain through several layers of boiled gauze. Store the solution in a clean dark bottle for no more than a week.

The solution is instilled one drop in each eye in the morning and evening. It can also be used as a compress.

On Internet sites you can buy ready-made various eye drops with propolis, honey-propolis, drops "A-P-V" - 5% extract of dark propolis in water, passed through the Karelian mineral shungite, with silver ions. The last drug is recommended by Professor V.G. Zhdanov, a well-known popularizer of William Bates' eye gymnastics. They are supplied with instructions on how and for what diseases to use them. These drugs are popular and have a lot of positive reviews, however, before using them, you should still consult with your doctor.

Herbal treatment is also used for double vision. For example, it is recommended to regularly drink mint tea, and put mint leaf juice mixed with liquid honey in the eyes twice a day, after waking up and before going to bed.

You can drink a decoction of dried blueberry leaves. To prepare it, pour 30 g of raw material into 400 ml of water and bring to a boil. Let it cool, strain and drink half a glass during the day.

Or an infusion of eyebright: 30 g of crushed dried herb is brewed with 300 ml of boiling water. Infuse for 2-3 hours, filter and drink 100 ml in three doses during the day.

It is recommended to treat double vision due to nerves with the following tincture. 40 g of crushed dried lavender and valerian root are poured with a liter of natural white grape wine. Infuse for three days, shaking periodically. Strain. Take the finished tincture, one teaspoon each time before meals.

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Homeopathy

Double vision should be treated with homeopathic medicines by a professional, since their arsenal is large and for each case it is necessary to select the only medicine suitable for a given patient.

The effects of trauma are relieved with Arnica montana (Mountain ram's tongue). Double vision due to high blood pressure - Aurum metallicum (Golden salt), Veratrum viride (Green hellebore), strabismus - Atropa Belladonna (Blade-deadly nightshade), Agaricus muscarius (Varied fly agaric), Colocynthis (Bitter gourd).

Optic neuritis, corneal pathologies causing double vision require the prescription of Calcium sulphuricum (Calcium sulphate). Conium maculatum (Hemlock) and Graphites (Graphite) are prescribed in cases of double vision of letters when reading, Luesinum (Syphilitic nosode) - for vertical diplopia, Oleander nerium odorum (Oleander) - for paralytic strabismus, especially when looking down. Muriaticum acidum (Hydrochloric acid), Phytolacca decandra (American pokeweed) are used when double vision is combined with headache.

Among the pharmacy combination drugs for diplopia of various origins, we can recommend homeopathic drops Okulokheel for local use, addressed to people with age-related changes in vision (cataracts), who are subject to significant strain on the organs of vision, who have undergone injuries and operations, and who experience visual discomfort in connection with this (diplopia, flickering flies, lack of clarity), also - the drug can be used for inflammation of allergic and infectious origin. The result of using drops in monotherapy or complex treatment is improved trophism and blood circulation in the arteries, toning of the extraocular muscles.

The drops contain:

Euphrasia (Eyebright) – is used for various ophthalmological diseases, including those caused by infections and degenerative processes, eliminates double vision and other symptoms of visual discomfort.

Cochlearia armoracia (Horseradish) – used for inflammatory diseases of the eyes after injuries, accompanied by pain and deterioration of vision, purulent and lacrimation, also prescribed to patients with developing cataracts;

Pilocarpus jaborandi (trees of the genus Pilocarpus jaborandi) – reduces intraocular pressure, activates blood circulation in the vessels of the head, promotes natural hydration of the eyes.

Echinacea angustifolia (Echinacea) is a well-known immunomodulator and antioxidant, which also has pronounced anti-inflammatory properties.

There are no age restrictions for use: infants are recommended to instill one to two drops into one or both eyes once a day; from one year to two full years - two drops once or twice; from three to five full years - two drops twice a day; 6-11 full years - the same amount, but two or three times. After reaching the age of twelve, an adult single dose is prescribed - three times a day instillation of two drops.

The systemic homeopathic preparation Okulus EDAS-108 is produced in the form of drops and is used in similar cases. It contains three components: the already known Euphrasia (Eyebright) and Echinacea angustifolia (Echinacea), as well as Ruta graveolens (Fragrant Rue), used for headaches, dizziness, peripheral nerve damage, increased fatigue due to eye strain, diplopia when reading and working with small objects, blurred vision under artificial lighting (glare, rainbow glare).

The drops are taken orally, three times a day (every eight hours) before meals. A single dose is five drops. They can be dripped onto a piece of refined sugar or into a teaspoon with sugar or water.

Monodrugs:

Euphrasia D3 homeopathic eye drops - a preparation based on the eyebright plant, which has long been used in folk medicine to treat eye diseases. Eliminates symptoms of visual discomfort, inflammation and infection, accelerates the healing of damaged tissues.

To relieve acute symptoms, drop one drop into each eye every two hours, maintenance therapy: single dose three times a day. Recommended from the age of two.

DreamTeam MagicEye™ – intelligent eye drops based on sterile water, with the so-called “healthy eye matrix” embedded in its molecules, which independently corrects any defects and brings the visual system to a healthy state, by reading the information applied to the matrix. The drops are positioned as homeopathic (at least one of the principles of homeopathy “do no harm” is observed).

Physiotherapy treatment

Eye muscle training exercises are often combined in treatment with other methods - prismatic correction, medication, they can be performed with diplopia that has developed as a result of systemic pathologies. This is perhaps the only treatment method that can be practiced by everyone, including pregnant and lactating women, children and the elderly, and even without a doctor's prescription. In some cases, doing the exercises is enough and vision is restored in just a few days.

Of course, gymnastics for training extraocular muscles requires a certain amount of effort, but the result is worth it. Daily training improves accommodation, blood circulation in the vessels of the eye, and therefore nutrition, breathing and metabolic processes. Muscle tissue is strengthened and normal vision returns.

Recently, exercises for double vision according to Professor V.G. Zhdanov have become popular. He is not the author of this gymnastics, it has been known for a long time. William Bates, an American ophthalmologist, was the first to introduce physiological restoration of vision with the help of muscle training and their complete relaxation, relieving muscle spasms, suggesting that deterioration of vision is based on mental stress, causing refractive anomalies. V.G. Zhdanov, a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, combined William Bates's method with some calculations of psychoanalyst G.A. Shichko regarding self-hypnosis, which works both constructively and destructively. Therefore, it makes sense to independently strengthen the positive psychological component.

According to the psychoanalyst's method, this is done in the following way. Before going to bed, you need to write down your intention to recover on paper, in full phrases. Then do palming, relaxing the eye muscles, and go to bed. In addition, V.G.Zhdanov recommends in his lectures taking vision supplements, using therapeutic fasting, cleansing, the already mentioned propolis eye drops "APV", however, the main ones in his method are the exercises for training the eye muscles of William Bates. This gymnastics is replicated on the Internet and in printed publications, its exercises are probably known to everyone.

At home, you can do other exercises, for example, to expand the field of single vision. It is considered effective for partial motor diplopia.

The patient should sit one meter away from a well-lit wall painted in one color. A white sheet of paper with a black vertical stripe measuring 10x1 cm drawn in the center is attached to the eye level. The initial position of the patient's head should correspond to a clear visual image (the stripe should not double). Without taking his eyes off the stripe, the patient slowly turns his head in different directions (left, right, up, down), trying to maintain a clear, unsplit image of the object as much as possible. The head is turned until double vision occurs. This exercise should be performed three times a day for about five minutes. The goal of the exercise is to achieve maximum head rotation while maintaining a clear image.

Those suffering from sensory double vision (“fear of fusion”) are recommended to do exercises to train their fusion ability.

The patient selects any object for fusion, first a larger one, and tries to perform fusion from a possible distance, for example, a meter. During the training, the distance to the object increases, and the objects become smaller.

To perform the following exercise, you will need simple equipment: an electric torch or a light bulb, a partition with a round hole 10 mm in diameter, and red glass. The light source is placed behind the partition at approximately the level of the patient's eyes, and the patient looks at it through the red glass, positioning himself at such a distance that the object does not double. Then he slowly moves away from the object until the image begins to double. Again he approaches to a comfortable distance and moves away again, trying to maintain the fusion as long as possible.

Fusion exercises are combined with the first (to expand the field of vision). You can also do the Zhdanov-Bates complex during the day to train the eye muscles.

Contraindications to eye exercises include retinal detachment and the first six months after eye surgery.

Surgical treatment

In cases of binocular diplopia, surgical treatment is performed in cases of high degrees of deviation, ineffectiveness of all types of conservative treatment and correction with glasses.

Depending on the pathology, different methods of eye muscle surgery can be used. The most modern is laser vision correction, it is performed in cases of cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, traumatic eye lesions, late acquired strabismus, paralysis of the external rectus muscle. Open ophthalmological surgeries are also performed, for example, in patients with divergent or vertical strabismus, the position of the attachment point to the sclera of one of the extraocular muscles is changed (recession), if necessary, part of the muscle is removed, shortening it. In cases of convergent strabismus, additional plastic surgery of the external rectus muscle is also necessary.

If paralytic strabismus is a consequence of injury or illness, then surgery is prescribed no earlier than six months after the onset of the complication.

Surgical treatment for double vision at extreme points of gaze aversion is not recommended if the eyes are still symmetrically positioned and double vision does not occur when looking straight ahead.