Binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) is a condition where the eyes are misaligned and the visual system struggles to send one clear image to the brain.

BVD can result in a number of uncomfortable symptoms that can impact your life, with motion sickness being among the most common.

Causes of BVD

BVD can occur from any of the following conditions:

• Brain injury 
• Stroke
• Neurological disorders
• Facial asymmetry-where one eye is physically higher than the other
• Nerve or eye muscle dysfunction

What are the signs of BVD?

Binocular vision dysfunction causes a host of uncomfortable symptoms, including:

• Eye strain
• Double vision
• Light sensitivity
• Poor depth perception
• Difficulty reading
• Reduced attention span
• Dizziness and disorientation
• Difficulty navigating through crowds
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Nausea and vomiting
• Neck and shoulder pain

Motion sickness and BVD

Binocular vision dysfunction can cause nausea, dizziness and motion sickness, especially while riding in a car, boat, airplane or even an amusement park ride. 

These symptoms surface as a result of the conflicting messages your brain receives from each of your body’s three balance-sensing systems: your eyes, inner ears and the position-sensing nerves in your legs, arms, head, and neck.

For example, when sitting on a ride at the amusement park that’s spinning you around and upside down, your eyes see one thing, your position-sensing nerves feel another, and your inner ears sense something else. This causes confusion within your visual and vestibular systems, resulting in nausea and motion sickness.

The Find an Eye Doctor directory provides a list of eye doctors near you that may be able to help diagnose and treat BVD.

SEE RELATED: What is Binocular Visual Dysfunction (BVD)?

Signs of motion sickness

• Dizziness
• Cold sweats
• Increased saliva
• Nausea and vomiting
• Rapid breathing or gulping for air
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Inability to concentrate
• Irritability
• Pale skin

BVD motion sickness triggers 

Actions that can trigger the symptoms of motion sickness include:

• Looking at stationary objects, while in motion
• Driving around curves
• Being in huge spaces with high ceilings, such as a supermarket or mall
• Watching oncoming traffic
• Moving your head up and down or side to side
• Riding as a passenger in a car
• Sailing on a boat or a cruise ship
• Standing up quickly from a seated position
• Reading a book or watching a video while in motion

Can BVD cause vertigo or dizziness when driving?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Vertigo and dizziness can strike when you are driving, and sometimes come on suddenly, without warning.

Suffering from dizziness, vertigo or even motion sickness while you are behind the steering wheel can be quite scary and anxiety provoking.

These symptoms often surface when you think you are driving at high speeds, but really other cars are whizzing past, while moving your head side to side to check traffic, making a sharp turn or even just being aware of all the stimuli around you.

Treatment for motion sickness associated with BVD

BVD is successfully treated with micro-prismatic lenses prescribed by an eye doctor.

Prismatic lenses work to correct the misalignment in your eyes by manipulating incoming light before it enters your eyes so that when the images from the two eyes reach the brain, the brain can fuse them into a single image.

The prisms in the glasses ‘trick’ the brain into thinking your eyes are properly aligned, causing you to see just one object and preventing eye muscle strain.

Usually, patients find that their motion sickness symptoms gradually subside or completely disappear when they wear prescribed prism lenses.

Eye doctors may also include a customized program of vision therapy, which develops stronger communication between the eyes, the visual system and the brain.

When to call an eye doctor

If you suffer from motion sickness, schedule an eye exam with an eye doctor near you that is trained and experienced in diagnosing and treating BVD.

LEARN MORE:  Guide to Binocular Visual Dysfunction (BVD)

If you suffer from motion sickness, binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD) may be the underlying cause. 

Fortunately, BVD can be successfully treated to help you see more clearly and comfortably— without the motion sickness.

The post BVD and Motion Sickness appeared first on Optometrists.org.

Third nerve palsy, also called oculomotor palsy, occurs when the third cranial nerve becomes injured or diseased.

The third cranial nerve controls the actions of four external eye muscles. These muscles are responsible for turning the eye inward, moving the eye upward and downward, and rotating the eye downward and outward toward the ear.

The third cranial nerve also controls pupil constriction, upper eyelid position and eye focusing abilities.

As the third nerve controls many of the eye’s muscles, palsy of this nerve can result in complete or partial paralysis of the eye muscles.

A complete paralysis of the eye muscles generally leads to an outward and downward eye deviation, while a partial paralysis leads to an outward eye turn.

Similarly, a complete paralysis of the eye muscles typically results in a complete closure of the eyelid, while a partial paralysis usually results in a droopy eyelid.

What are the symptoms of third nerve palsy?

• Double vision (diplopia)
• Eye misalignment (strabismus)
• Droopy eyelid (ptosis)
• Enlarged pupil that does not react normally to light
• Tilted head posture to compensate for binocular vision difficulties

If you experience any of the above symptoms, contact an eye doctor near you.

SEE RELATED: Vision and Brain Injuries

What causes third nerve palsy?

Third nerve palsy may be congenital or acquired. While the cause of a congenital palsy may not be identifiable, an acquired palsy may result from:

• Birth trauma
• Head injury
• Infection
• Vaccination
• Migraine
• Brain tumor
• Aneurysm
• Diabetes
• Hypertension

How is third nerve palsy diagnosed?

An eye doctor may be able to diagnose third nerve palsy, but may refer you to a neuro-ophthalmologist or neurologist for confirmation.

A series of diagnostic tests, including a neurological exam and MRI or CT scan, will be performed in order to effectively identify a third nerve palsy.

How is third nerve palsy treated?

Unfortunately, treatment for congenital third nerve palsy has yet to be discovered.

If the palsy is acquired, treatment will depend on the underlying cause of the condition.

Surgery may be recommended if a tumor or aneurysm is pressing on the nerve, to relieve the pressure on the nerve and promote healing.

To reduce or eliminate double vision and improve eye alignment, the following treatments may be recommended: 

• Vision therapy
• Patching one eye to improve binocular vision
• Prism lenses to reduce or eliminate double vision
• Eye muscle surgery to realign the eyes
• Eyelid surgery to correct the ptosis

Vision therapy is an effective treatment option for some patients with third nerve palsy, as it can help to improve eye movements and binocular vision.

If you notice any sudden changes to your vision, especially double vision or an eye turn, schedule an eye exam as soon as possible. 

LEARN MORE: Guide to Vision Therapy for Adults

The sooner fourth nerve palsy is diagnosed, the greater your chances of optimal treatment results.

The post Third Nerve Palsy appeared first on Optometrists.org.

Double vision, also known as diplopia, is a common symptom of convergence insufficiency, lazy eye and strabismus, though it can also result from any of the following conditions:

• Stroke
• Traumatic brain injury
• Brain swelling
• Brain tumor
• Brain aneurysm
• Cranial nerve palsy
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Diabetes
• Myasthenia gravis
• Multiple sclerosis

If you have any of these conditions contact an eye doctor to evaluate your vision.

Why are you seeing double?

To achieve the single vision the two eyes need to work together by looking at and focusing on the same image, simultaneously. Each eye is then responsible for transmitting visual information to the brain, where the two images are then fused into a clear, single image.

Double vision most commonly occurs when the two eyes are not aligned properly and are unable to look at and focus on the same image, at the same time.

As a result, the brain is unable to fuse the two visual signals transmitted from the two eyes into one single image— resulting in double vision.

The two images of a single object may be seen horizontally (side by side) or vertically (one on top of the other).

Double vision can be very worrying and significantly impact your quality of life. Fortunately, double vision can be effectively treated with prism lenses and vision therapy.

SEE RELATED: Vision Therapy for Double Vision: Success Stories

Schedule an appointment with a vision therapy eye doctor to start treating your double vision.

What are prism lenses?

Prism lenses are specialized lenses prescribed by eye doctors for the treatment of double vision and other severe binocular vision difficulties.

Prisms correct eye alignment by “tricking” the brain into perceiving that an image is located in a different location or position.

This helps the brain to accurately process the two visual signals and fuse them into one, single image.

Vision therapy

While prism lenses are an effective solution for improving binocular vision, their effects are only short term, as they only enable single vision for as long as you wear your glasses.

If you are searching for a long term solution for double vision, speak with your doctor about vision therapy.

Vision therapy retrains the eye-brain connections to improve your visual skills for clearer, single vision— with or without your prism lenses.

For optimal treatment results, many eye doctors will prescribe prism lenses along with a program of vision therapy.

With a combination of prism lenses and vision therapy, your eyes will learn to work together to regain clear and comfortable binocular vision.

LEARN MORE: Guide to Neuro-Optometry

Contact an eye doctor to learn more about how prism lenses and vision therapy can help improve your binocular vision— for a clearer, more comfortable way of viewing life.

The post Prism Lenses for Double Vision appeared first on Optometrists.org.

Headaches and binocular vision dysfunction

Binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) is a condition that occurs when the eyes are misaligned.

Eye misalignment causes brain “confusion”. When the two eyes transmit two distinct images for visual processing, the brain has a difficult time interpreting the two images and processing a single, clear image that you can recognize.

Eye misalignment can lead to BVD and result in eye strain, blurred vision, and frequent, severe headaches.

Common symptoms of BVD include:

• Headaches and migraines
• Blurred vision
• Double vision
• Eye strain
• Photophobia
• Poor depth perception
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Anxiety
• Motion sickness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Neck, upper back or shoulder pain

Symptoms of BVD typically surface during near vision tasks, specifically during prolonged reading activities— whether you’re reading your favorite novel, surfing the web on your computer, or scrolling through your smartphone.

Fortunately, you don’t need to suffer with headaches for much longer— BVD can be treated by a neuro-optometrist.

Your eye doctor can prescribe specialized lenses with prisms, called BVD lenses, to help improve eye alignment, and provide you with the much needed relief from your uncomfortable symptoms.

How do BVD lenses help?

Prism lenses for BVD enable your eyes to work together to produce an image that your brain can process more effectively.

These specialized lenses will alleviate eye strain and blurred vision, and thus eliminate the tension that is causing your headaches.

If you suffer from frequent headaches, schedule a functional vision evaluation as soon as possible. 

The earlier a vision problem is detected, the sooner you can achieve clearer, more comfortable vision…without the headaches! 

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