CI in eyes refers to Convergence Insufficiency, a condition where your eyes struggle to work together when focusing on nearby objects. This makes it difficult to converge (turn inward) your eyes properly.
Understanding Convergence Insufficiency
Convergence insufficiency isn't about blurry vision itself, but rather the difficulty of coordinating both eyes to focus on something up close. It's like your eyes are fighting each other to maintain focus.
Symptoms of Convergence Insufficiency
Symptoms can vary in severity but commonly include:
- Eyestrain: Feeling tired or sore eyes, especially after reading or computer work.
- Headaches: Often occurring after focusing on close-up tasks.
- Blurred vision: Intermittent blurring when reading or doing near work.
- Double vision: Seeing two images of the same object.
- Difficulty concentrating: Losing focus easily when reading.
- Words moving on the page: Experiencing text appearing to shift or swim.
- Poor reading comprehension: Having trouble understanding what you're reading.
- Avoiding near work: Reluctance to read, write, or do other activities that require close focus.
- Dizziness or motion sickness: In some cases.
Causes and Risk Factors
While the exact cause isn't always clear, Convergence Insufficiency is thought to have a genetic component, meaning it can run in families. Other potential contributing factors include:
- Neurological conditions: In rare cases, CI can be associated with neurological issues.
- Head trauma: Head injuries can sometimes disrupt eye coordination.
Diagnosis
An eye doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist) can diagnose Convergence Insufficiency through a comprehensive eye exam. This exam will assess:
- Near point of convergence (NPC): Measuring how close you can bring an object to your eyes before you see double or one eye turns outward.
- Vergence ranges: Assessing the ability of your eyes to move inward and outward.
- Accommodative function: Evaluating your eyes' ability to focus.
Treatment
Fortunately, Convergence Insufficiency is often treatable. The most common and effective treatment is vision therapy, a program of eye exercises designed to improve eye coordination and convergence ability.
- Vision Therapy: Typically involves exercises done at home or in the doctor's office to strengthen eye muscles and improve convergence skills.
- Prism glasses: In some cases, prism lenses can be prescribed to help align the images seen by each eye, reducing eyestrain.
- Corrective Lenses: If refractive errors (like nearsightedness or farsightedness) are present, corrective lenses will be prescribed.
- Surgery: Surgery is rarely necessary for Convergence Insufficiency.
Convergence Insufficiency can significantly impact daily life, especially for children in school and adults who spend a lot of time reading or working at a computer. Early diagnosis and treatment can often improve symptoms and quality of life.
