What is diplopia? Is it curable?

Diplopia is the medical term for "double vision." Most diplopia is caused by a failure of the muscles controlling the eyes to work in harmony, thus causing the eyes to look in somewhat different directions. It can be intermittent or constant, or can be seen only in certain directions of gaze.

Surprisingly perhaps, it is possible to have monocular diplopia: seeing double in one eye only. The most common cause of this is cataract formation in the natural lens. Another cause is distortion in the cornea caused by previous surgery such as LASIK or by an intraocular lens.

Curing diplopia is a matter of first properly diagnosing its nature and cause. Some forms are very curable, maybe even just with a contact lens. Some types are curable with surgery, while other kinds are not amenable to any satisfactory correction.

Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. - Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic