Eye Strain & BVD
If you experience eye discomfort when you look at something for a long time, you probably have eye strain. In some cases, signs and symptoms of eye strain indicate an underlying eye condition, such as binocular visual dysfunction (BVD).
What is Binocular Visual Dysfunction?
When our eyes work in perfect harmony, it allows the brain to combine the two images that our eyes are sending into a single, distinct image. When our eyes are even slightly misaligned, each eye sends the brain a slightly different image, which the brain finds difficult to merge into one clear single image
How Does BVD Cause Eye Strain?
To compensate for the eyes’ misalignment, the brain and eye muscles struggle intensely to produce a single image. This puts the eye muscles under significant stress, which leads to eye strain.
For some, eye strain can occur while concentrating on a visually demanding task, such as using a computer for an extended period of time or reading fine print. These tasks can unconsciously cause the muscles in the face, temples, eyelids and jaw to clench, leading to headaches and discomfort, and even painful migraines.
How to Treat BVD
The best way to treat BVD is to wear aligning prismatic lenses, commonly prescribed by neuro-optometrists to correct any misalignment.
Aligning prismatic lenses modify incoming light before it reaches your eyes, allowing your brain to combine the images from both eyes into a single unified image. The prisms in the glasses fool your brain into believing your eyes are perfectly aligned. This unified image helps prevent your eye muscles from trying to overcome the misalignment and reduces eye strain and other BVD symptoms.
Patients typically report that their symptoms gradually subside or completely disappear when they wear their prescribed prism lenses.
At Mascoutah Eye Care, we care about your vision. If you’re experiencing eye strain and want to know if BVD is causing your symptoms, contact us to schedule an appointment and learn more about our services and how we can help.
Mascoutah Eye Care serves patients from , Belleville, O'Fallon, and Edwardsville, throughout Illinois.