When New Glasses Aren’t Enough to Relieve Eye Strain

While yearly eye exams are essential to ensuring eye health and acuity, sometimes a new prescription isn’t enough to take care of problems such as eye strain and dizzy sensations and blurred vision. While eye strain can be the result of activities that require a lot of focused, concentrated near tasks such as reading, writing or prolonged computer use, it can also be an indicator of a more serious condition known as Binocular Vision Dysfunction (BVD).

Symptoms of BVD

Patients with BVD have a slight eye misalignment which makes it difficult for their eyes to work together as a team. This misalignment makes it challenging for the brain to merge the two images into one focused image and blurred, shadowed or double vision is often the result. This makes it extremely difficult to focus and concentrate. It can make a person feel dizzy while driving, making driving and other everyday activities uncomfortable and even scary – which can then lead to anxiety. These individuals can find it hard to do something as basic as meeting another person’s eyes, and trying to follow the hand gestures and body movements of other people is often dizzying.

Why BVD Is Often Missed

Unfortunately, just as new glasses don’t automatically correct all vision problems, standard eye exams don’t automatically catch all eye conditions. Most eye doctors don’t have the appropriate training or equipment to detect and diagnose BVD. Those who suffer from the condition often end up dealing with headaches and dizziness, and various other vision-related problems, for months or even years due to the simple fact that they haven’t been properly diagnosed and treated. Do any of the BVD symptoms we’ve related sound familiar to you? If so, take a moment to fill out our BVD questionnaire. If it indicates that you’re likely to have the condition, you can then schedule a comprehensive NeuroVisual Exam with a doctor at Vision Specialists of Michigan. If BVD is taking over your life, call us today at [company_phone] to find out how our micro-prism lenses can help you get it back!