Question

I have had diplopia for 15 years and wear 14 prism BO glasses which keep me straight most of the time except when I am very tired. I have MS and have had many small exacerbations of optic neuritis with marked loss of visual fields and periodically some color blindness. My question is whether anything can be done to help any of this since my correction vision is now 20/50 to 2/60 OD and 20/100 OS, thus, a great problem with driving. Any suggestions?

(Lois Thistle)

Answer:

Dear Lois,

Decrease of visual acuity caused by optic neuritis cannot be improved. However, if you have 14 prism dioptres of esotropia that increases when you are tired, it would be a good idea to have strabismus suregery. Ask your ophthalmologist what he thinks of strabismus surgery and if you don't haven an ophthalmologist, search for one that does a lot of strabismus cases and ask for his advice.

Yours truly,

(Herb Simonsz, MD, PhD)

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