Causes of Your Eyes Experiencing Diplopia (Double Vision)

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If you see one object but it appears as two objects, you may experience double vision or the medical language is called diplopia. These objects can be seen side by side, one above the other, or a combination of the two. So, what is the cause of diplopia? Read on to find out.

What is diplopia?

Diplopia is a visual impairment in which patients will see two images of an adjacent object (double vision). This condition must be considered a serious condition, because several causes require immediate diagnosis and treatment.

In some cases, the patient's vision can improve if the patient directs the object toward or away from his face, squints, or adds light in the room. However, there are also some people who cannot improve their vision.

Diplopia is divided into two types, namely:

Monocular Diplopia. Impaired double vision that only occurs in one eye. The condition will continue even when the normal eye is closed.
Binocular Diplopia. Impaired double vision that occurs in both eyes.

Both types of diplopia can be temporary, some are permanent, all depends on the cause.

Causes of monocular diplopia

Some conditions can be the cause of monocular diplopia, including:

Astigmatism - Abnormal curvature of the front surface of the cornea.
Keratoconus - The cornea gradually becomes thin and cone-shaped.
Pterygium - A condition where the thin mucous membrane that covers the white part of the eyeball grows. This condition can occur in one or both eyes at once. In fact, if not treated immediately, thickening can extend to the cornea of the eye so that it can interfere with the vision of the sufferer.
Cataract - The lens gradually becomes transparent or cloudy. Cataracts are eye conditions that often occur and usually occur in older men and women. In addition, risk factors can also occur if someone has eye trauma or long-term diabetes, smoking, taking steroid drugs or undergoing radiation treatment.
Lens dislocation - Conditions in which the lens moves, shifts, or changes improperly. This can be caused by trauma to the eye or a condition known as Marfan syndrome.
Swollen eyelids - This condition can suppress the front of the eye which causes visual discomfort
Dry eyes - A condition where your eyes do not produce enough tears.
There is a problem in the retina - Double vision can also occur if the surface of the retina is not perfectly smooth, which can occur due to various causes.

Causes of binocular diplopia

Some conditions can be the cause of binocular diplopia, including:

Cockeye - The eye muscles connected to the brain do not work properly so that eye movements are different, even though the two eyes should move in the same direction. this condition generally occurs in children.
Damage to nerves that control extraocular muscles - some medical conditions due to diseases of the brain or spinal cord nerves such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, and brain tumors.
Diabetes - This disease can cause nerve problems that control eye muscle movements. Sometimes this can happen before the person realizes he has diabetes.
Myasthenia gravis - This is a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes the body's muscles to get tired easily and become weak. This happens because a person's immune system experiences abnormalities that attack healthy tissues and nerves in the body.
Graves' disease - This condition is one type of disorder in the body's immune system which is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism - the weakness of the tidroid hormone. The thyroid is an endocrine gland that has an important role and is located in the neck where thyroid hormones are produced to control bodily activity.
Trauma in the eye muscles - The eye muscles can be injured due to trauma due to injury or broken bones around the eye socket.