Prism eyeglasses help with double vision or diplopia. Such conditions happen when individuals see one object as two separate images. The prism aligns the two images into one.
Double vision has different causes. Prism glasses cannot correct all types of double vision. Sometimes it can be a sign of a severe medical condition. It is ideal to consult your doctor about the cause of your double vision. Doing so is crucial before resorting to prism glasses.
What Are Prism Glasses?
Prism glasses help people with double vision from eye movement problems like strabismus. Eye muscle weakness can also occur from diabetes, head injury, or stroke. Your eyes become misaligned when such muscles do not work as they should. As a result, you have double vision.
How Do Prism Glasses Look?
Prism glasses look like any other pair of spectacles but one lens looks thicker than the other. You can opt for denser frames if the disparity in lenses bothers you.
You will have a separate prism prescription added to either or both of your lenses. You can also keep your current vision prescription. Your doctor will apply the prism based on the kind of diplopia you have, vertical or horizontal. If there is a need for long-term correction, the prism can be put into your lens.
How Do Prism Eye Glasses Work?
Your corneas need to filter the light entering your eyes. They focus it onto your retinas for you to have clear vision. Refractive errors occur when light hits the retinas in the wrong spot.
Eye misalignment causes diplopia. Your corneas filter light into your retina in the right way, but misalignment focuses the light onto diverse retina areas on each of your eyes. As a result, your eyes send your brain different images of the same object.
Prism glasses have a prism lens customized to bend the light that enters your eyes. In doing so, the light falls on similar spots on both your retina without your eyes becoming aligned. The lenses allow your eyes to work together to form one image.
How To Know If You Need Prism Glasses
Below are some of the conditions that prism glasses can ease:
- Double vision
- Unsteady bearing
- Headaches
- Eyestrain
- Eye fatigue
- Back, shoulder, and neck strain
- Vertigo, light-headedness, and dizziness
- Anxiety in open spaces and big crowds
- Difficulty maintaining concentration and focusing
- Struggle driving from long hours
Do Prism Glasses Have Side Effects?
People who wear prescription glasses do not need to wear prism glasses. Eyeglasses with prism correction reduce or end double vision or diplopia. Since such glasses help your eyes, they have no side effects.
If your prism glasses have side effects, you should revisit your eye doctor. Negative prism glasses have side effects. You can experience symptoms like double vision or diplopia. Such signs include pain as you move your eyes, nausea, and pain in your face around your eyes. You can also experience headaches and see double images.
You can experience side effects if you have misaligned frames. Changes in your body or incorrect prescription can cause side effects. Contact your doctor to understand what is causing the side effects.
For more on prism glasses, contact Village Optical at our office in New Hyde Park, New York. You can also call (516) 352-2316 to book an appointment today.
