Having good eye health makes you stronger physically, mentally, and socially. When you are aware of everyday eye disorders that can be treated, you’re able to take control of your well-being.

Defining Binocular Vision Dysfunction

Binocular vision dysfunction (BVD) is a serious medical condition that is due to the misalignment of the eyes. It’s quite common but often misdiagnosed. Because of stress and strain on the eyes, many individuals with BVD feel dizzy. This dizziness is frequently associated with vertigo, a vestibular problem, when BVD is the actual culprit. Therefore, when you know what BVD is, you can make your life easier and get the help you need to improve your vision.

Common Symptoms of BVD

Since people with BVD try to compensate for seeing better in one eye than in the other, blurry vision and light sensitivity can occur. As a result, they develop headaches, as well as dizziness. Further, they feel disoriented and lightheaded. Along with these undesirable symptoms, they can experience nausea, lose balance when walking, and bump into objects. Other physical pains felt include facial, eye, neck, and back. Even while in cars, BVD sufferers go through motion sickness, which also leads to discomfort.

To add to the above symptoms of BVD, here’s a useful list for you to know:

  • Learning disability diagnosis (e.g., ADD/ADHD)
  • Reading difficulties (e.g., low concentration)
  • Poor sleeping patterns
  • Poor hand-eye coordination
  • Double vision
  • Difficulty in making eye contact
  • Poor listening
  • Causes of BVD

Next, by focusing on the causes of BVD, you have the opportunity to be aware of situations that can trigger this disorder. For one, your facial asymmetry changes as you age, and this makes the incidence of BVD higher in some people. If you damage your optical nerve due to an injury, like head trauma, you’ll be susceptible to BVD. Further, genetics have an effect on the tendency to develop BVD.

BVD Treatment

A popular approach to correcting BVD involves the use of prisms. When prisms are placed inside glasses or lenses, they bend the images that your eyes see. Consequently, your eyes will become aligned. This technique does require your eye doctor to adjust and fit the prisms so that the image seen by one eye corresponds to the other eye completely. As a result, you will not have any more of the nagging symptoms of BVD and will enjoy clear vision.

Importance of Understanding BVD

As earlier mentioned, BVD is often misdiagnosed. This means that many people continue to suffer from this disorder when they could be seeing better and feeling good. By knowing what BVD is, what its symptoms are, what causes it, and how to get it treated, you can take a great step toward better eye health. Understanding how to avoid eye care problems is the key to enhanced vision, which leads to quality of life. So, take the time and effort to get the best vision care, and your eyes will thank you for years to come.