Prism glasses

[Prismglasses]

I’d like to learn more about prism glasses. I recently had an episode of double vision so went for an eye test. My optician told me that I have an eye muscle weakness (I’m in my mid-30s and he was surprised it hadn’t been diagnosed before) and will ultimately need prism glasses to correct it. It makes me a bit nervous at the moment as I’ve only had one episode of double vision and he told me that when I start using prisms I’ll see double every time I take my glasses off.

To those of you who already have them how do you find it? These may be dumb questions but how do you manage when reading, having a bath or swimming? I’m short sighted and my prescription’s not that strong so I currently take my glasses off quite a lot…

Are there exercises you can do to strengthen the muscles?

Ask to be referred to an Orthoptist- a specialist with binocular functions who will do a free (nhs) thorough assessment and recommend prisms or exercises ! They can give you temporary trial prisms, which are much better than spending a fortune at the opticians on something permanent that might not be quite right.

I have prisms in my glasses. Your eyes will adjust OP. Mine is muscle weakness like yours - it tends to be more when I am tired or I have a drink. Sometimes it’s nice and relaxing for eyes to see double so I let them go.

there’s a balance to be struck between wearing prisms all the time and not wearing them as much but having to think about how you hold your head so you can see. If you’re not careful you can end up with neck problems.

If they get worse ask them to refer you to the eye hospital where you can have a full check up and they can talk to you about your options.

I've been wearing specs for about 30 years and like you I take them off for reading or close up work.
I had episodes of double vision earlier this year, I noticed it more when I was watching TV, so got new specs with prisms and haven't had any issues. I still take them off for reading and haven't had double vision then.

Not according to my optician 🤷‍♀️

That sounds like a good idea - how do temporary prisms work with existing glasses?

I have a pretty steep prism in my specs - I have Duanes Syndrome, which means one of the 6 nerves controlling the eye is faulty so my left eye doesn't turn outwards very well. I have the Duanes "head tilt" from overcompensating with the right eye for many years, and I get double vision a lot.

You will acclimatise quickly although it will feel weird at first! Even if you do have double vision when you take them off, it doesn't matter much - just give yourself time to reacclimatise, they'll soon align again. The optometrist wouldn't recommend it if they didn't think you needed it. You can work the muscles to some degree - I can't do anything about the lack of horizontal movement in my bad eye but I'm supposed to exercise it to stop the right eye being overly dominant. I'm banned from making my bad eye roll around as a party trick for the kids haha, and I also got told off for covering one eye to get sharper focus - the more you try to use both eyes together (with and without specs), the better.

Fresnel prisms are stick on plastic which can be removed and you can try different strengths to see which suit best before getting them permanently built into lenses if necessary.

DH has a Fresnel prism. Most people don't notice it or are too polite to ask.

Whenever he gets a new one there is much faffing about to put it in exactly the right position and cut it correctly although I suspect that's just DH

He thinks it makes a lot of difference but TBH he doesn't really do anything without glasses as then he can't see.

That’s what worries me. I’m grateful there’s an easy fix for this but I’m used to constantly taking my glasses off (I read a lot and I don’t mind walking round the house with a bit of blur). The thought of suddenly needing them for everything is scary. Hopefully I’ll find comfort in the double like @AuntieJoyce