What Is Ophthalmoplegia, And What You Can Do About It?

Ophthalmoplegia (กล้ามเนื้อตาอ่อนแรง, which is the term in Thai) is the condition that occurs due to wakening in eye muscles. The patient starts to lose control of their eye muscle and starts to have a problem controlling eye movement. Moreover, the condition can affect about six muscles that hold the eye in its place and are responsible for eye movement.

Ophthalmoplegia has two types, namely- chronic progressive external Ophthalmoplegia and internal Ophthalmoplegia.

How Ophthalmoplegia Affects A Person’s Life?

Ophthalmoplegia can affect a person’s life hugely. There can be several reasons causing such wakening of the eye muscle. The patient suffering from Ophthalmoplegia starts to experience blurry vision, double vision, which can hinder your daily routine. Moreover, you need to make frequent visits to the clinic, as the doctor will observe your condition to find out the underlying cause of your Ophthalmoplegia.

Diagnose Procedure Of Ophthalmoplegia

The physical examiner will check your eye movement. Alongside physical examination, the patient will have to go through a CT scan or MRI, which gives more insights into the eye. To check your condition further, the doctor might ask you to take a blood test.  The thyroid and diabetes increase the risk of developing Ophthalmoplegia; that is the reason why a blood test can be helpful. If you get diagnosed with Ophthalmoplegia, the doctor may refer you to an eye specialist or neurologist to relieve your condition.

Treatment Of Ophthalmoplegia

The treatment of Ophthalmoplegia depends on the various factors, such as symptoms, underlying cause, age of patients. Ophthalmoplegia develops due to different diseases such as diabetes and thyroid problems. Moreover, children can be born with the condition.

Usually, to get rid of the double and blurry vision, the patients are provided special glasses or wear an eye patch.

Can You Prevent Ophthalmoplegia From Developing?

Ophthalmoplegia can be the symptoms of another syndrome or underlying disease that you can develop. Therefore, your regular visit to the doctor can result in early detections. Even Ophthalmoplegia can develop in patients that have normal vision.

The eye control uses delicate muscle control, and any problem in the nervous and vascular system can hinder the function.

Here are a few of the underlying conditions that can cause Ophthalmoplegia. Since there are two types of Ophthalmoplegia, the underlying condition causing both the condition differ from each other.

Cause Of Internal Ophthalmoplegia

• Multiple Sclerosis
• Trauma
• Infarction

Cause Of The External Ophthalmoplegia

• Migraines
• Thyroid Disease
• Stroke
• Brain Injury
• Brain Tumor
• Infection
• Muscle Disorders

Mitochondrial like Graves’ disease or Kearns-Sayre syndrome.