convergence insufficiency worse when stressed treatment

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Most eye care professionals treat convergence insufficiency using a home-based therapy called “pencil push-ups.” During pencil push-ups, the patient follows a small letter or picture on a pencil. The pencil is slowly brought toward the bridge of the nose. The goal is to keep the letter clear and single with no double vision.

What is convergence insufficiency and how is it treated?

Don’t underestimate the influence that a condition such as convergence insufficiency can have on a child's or young adult’s reading ability, concentration, comprehension, and education. If a child is acting out in class, it could be due to a vision problem such as convergence insufficiency.

How does convergence insufficiency affect a child’s learning?

Sometimes children and young adults with convergence insufficiency also have accommodative insufficiency. Although you can have one without the other, they often both cause a problem because accommodation and convergence are closely intertwined neurologically. Accommodation is the automatic reflex that occurs when we focus on a near object.

Can you have accommodation and convergence insufficiency at the same time?

People with convergence excess can do the near work, but tend to get tired much faster than people who don’t have this functional vision problem. Typical symptoms include: Eye strain/fatigue. Headaches. Double vision. Blurry vision. Loss of place when reading. Difficulty reading and concentrating.

What are the symptoms of convergence excess?

Can stress cause convergence insufficiency?

Convergence insufficiency usually has no underlying cause, but it can be associated with stress, fatigue, and anxiety, and it may follow infection or trauma. Underlying intracranial lesions are rare. The child and parents should be reassured that there is no disease, and orthoptic near point exercises can be tried.

Can convergence insufficiency get worse?

If untreated, CI can lead to more serious eye problems such as lazy eye (amblyopia) or even an eye turn (strabismus). If the convergence problems are left untreated, suppression can result.

Does convergence insufficiency come and go?

Symptoms may only happen when you are tired or have a lot of close visual work. Eye care providers can diagnose CI with a health history and eye exam. Most of the time, it will go away if you regularly do special eye exercises.

Can anxiety cause convergence?

It's not rare for these symptoms to worsen as a result of illness, lack of sleep, anxiety or too much time spent working. CI is frequently misdiagnosed as dyslexia, ADD or ADHD or even an anxiety disorder.

How long does it take to correct convergence insufficiency?

Treatment for convergence insufficiency might take three months or longer. Treatment can resolve convergence insufficiency, but symptoms might recur after illness, after lack of sleep, or when you're doing a lot of reading or other close work. Discuss treatment options with your eye care professional.

Can anxiety cause eye problems?

Anxiety can cause many eye problems and vision symptoms, such as seeing stars, shimmers, blurry vision, shadows, sensitivity to light, eye strain, tunnel vision, and others.

Is convergence insufficiency a neurological?

Convergence insufficiency is a sensory and neuromuscular disorder and is not due to muscle weakness, which is why treatment should be designed to modify the visual-neural connections responsible for convergence.

Do prisms help convergence insufficiency?

One method of therapy to resolve convergence insufficiency is the use of base-out prism glasses which force the system to work harder to converge. They are used only during short periods of time while performing therapy as they are very tiring to the eyes.

Can convergence insufficiency be fixed?

Convergence insufficiency can be treated with a type of vision therapy called convergence exercises. This often includes working with a specialist to practice focusing on objects at different distances. You can also do exercises at home. Sometimes a special type of glasses called prism glasses can be used in treatment.

Can stress cause vision loss?

Finally, severe anxiety can make you feel dizzy, which may make you feel like your vision has become blurred. In the long term, when extreme stress and anxiety happens frequently, your body's heightened cortisol levels can cause glaucoma and optic neuropathy, which can lead to blindness.

Does vision therapy help anxiety?

By treating your vision misalignment and allowing your eyes to see clearly and properly, your symptoms can be reduced or eliminated, providing you with remarkable anxiety relief.

How do I stop eye strain anxiety?

Ways to Reduce Eye Soreness From AnxietyReduce Computer Eye Strain Focusing on small text, especially in the dark, already causes eye strain. ... Give Your Eyes a Break Generally it's best to avoid being inactive, and obviously when you close your eyes you can't exactly engage in many activities.More items...

How to diagnose convergence insufficiency?

People with convergence insufficiency might have otherwise normal vision, so it's important to mention reading or learning concerns to your eye care provider. To diagnose convergence insufficiency, your eye doctor might: 1 Take a medical history. This might include a health history as well as questions about problems you have with focusing, blurred or double vision, headaches, or other symptoms. 2 Measure the near point of convergence (NPC). This test measures the distance from your eyes to where both eyes can focus without double vision. The examiner holds a small target, such as a printed card or penlight, in front of you and slowly moves it closer to you until either you have double vision or the examiner sees an eye drift outward. 3 Assess positive fusional vergence (PFV). During this test, you're asked to read letters on an eye chart while looking through prism lenses. The examiner will note when you begin to have double vision. 4 Perform a routine eye exam. If you have any other vision problems, such as nearsightedness, your eye doctor might conduct tests to assess the degree of the problem.

What is the best treatment for convergence insufficiency?

Recent studies indicate that office-based therapy with home reinforcement is the most effective treatment for convergence insufficiency. Home-based treatment with pencil pushups or computer programs hasn't been shown to be as effective. But home treatment costs less and is more convenient and more readily available.

How to improve convergence of eyes?

But for people with symptoms, treatment with eye-focusing exercises can increase the eyes' convergence ability. Treatment, which can take place in the office with a trained therapist or at your home, might include: Pencil pushups.

Can reading glasses help with farsightedness?

You can print the results to share with your eye doctor. Reading glasses. Glasses with built-in prisms generally haven't proved effective. If you have another focusing or vision problem, such as not seeing well at close range (farsightedness), reading glasses might help .

Can convergence insufficiency be normal?

People with convergence insufficiency might have otherwise normal vision, so it's important to mention reading or learning concerns to your eye care provider. To diagnose convergence insufficiency, your eye doctor might:

What is convergence insufficiency?

Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a common, yet not frequently diagnosed eye coordination problem in which the eyes drift outward when reading or doing close work.

Why is CI treated?

This is because if the condition is not properly treated, it can progress into a much more serious condition called intermittent exotropia. This is the brain's answer to coping with double vision and the stress of eyes not working as a team. The eyes may drift further apart and simply begin working independently rather than as a team. This can lead to a whole host of new problems. Our brain is wired for two eyes to work together and when this doesn’t happen, the problems begin to go beyond discomfort while reading. The use of one eye is suppressed.

What is the best treatment for fusional fusion?

The most successful treatment involves home plus office therapy . The least successful involves an older form of treatment called “pencil push-ups".

Is CI a common diagnosis?

In summary, CI is a common but frequently missed diagnosis (one can have uncorrected vision in each eye of 20/20 vision and still have CI so screenings at work and school will totally miss it). CI is also very treatable if diagnosed. However, treatment is patient intensive.

What are the symptoms of convergence insufficiency?

Difficulty reading and concentrating. Avoidance of near work. Poor sports performance. Less common symptoms include: Dizziness or motion sickness. General fatigue. The symptoms of convergence insufficiency can range from mildly annoying to so severe that you avoid nearpoint tasks.

What is convergence excess?

Definition: Convergence excess is also a problem with ‘eye teaming.’. When a person has convergence excess and looks at a nearpoint target, their eyes converge to a point that is closer than where the target actually is. For example, if a book is held 16” away from the reader, the eyes may be pointing at a spot only 14” away.

Why is convergence important?

Convergence is critical for our eyes to focus on close objects , like books, papers and computer screens.

What is convergence insufficiency?

Convergence insufficiency is a vision and eye disorder common in children and young adults. This eye muscle disorder makes it difficult for the eyes to turn inward when looking down to read or focus. 1  When attempting to focus on a nearby object, normal eye muscles cause the eyes to converge or turn inward. ...

How many children have convergence insufficiency?

Convergence insufficiency is present in one out of every 20 children. Most likely one to two children in every classroom have this condition. 2  Children with convergence insufficiency are often thought to be lazy or disruptive in the classroom. They tend to have poor attention and often tire more easily when reading.

What is the relationship between the accommodative and convergence system of the eye?

The accommodative system and the convergence system of the eye are closely intertwined and one can affect the other. People with convergence insufficiency often have an inadequate amount of convergence per the amount of accommodation that their eye is doing. They are said to have a low accommodative-convergence/accommodative ratio.

Can convergence insufficiency be detected?

Convergence insufficiency is not usually detected on regular vision screenings. Often, the only way it can be properly diagnosed is to see an eye doctor, either an optometrist or ophthalmologist. In fact, pediatric or behavioral vision optometrists or ophthalmologists are better experts in dealing with this condition.

Can convergence insufficiency cause difficulty reading?

Parents should know that convergence insufficiency can cause numerous symptoms that make it difficult to read and comprehend. However, doctors now have evidence that office-based vision therapy with a trained therapist plus at-home therapy reinforcement can treat the condition and eliminate symptoms.

What are the symptoms of convergence insufficiency?

Symptoms of convergence insufficiency include diplopia (double vision) and headaches when reading. Many patients will complain that they have difficulty concentrating on near work (computer, reading, etc.) and that the written words will move around and become blurry after prolonged periods of reading. Patients may be noted to squint ...

Can patching help with convergence?

Patching is not an option to strengthen convergence because wearing a patch will disrupt any ability to exercise binocular function (use the two eyes together). Occasionally, patients will patch one eye temporarily in order to relieve double vision during times when a large amount of near work is required.

Can convergence insufficiency resurface?

At times, convergence insufficiency symptoms will resurface after illness , lack of sleep or increased near work demands. If treatment had been successful previously, an additional course of treatment may be successful at resolving recurrent symptoms.

What is convergence insufficiency?

Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a highly treatable binocular vision condition that affects near vision and eye muscle coordination. Convergence of the eyes occurs when the two eyes need to focus on a close object, such as a book, computer, tablet, smartphone, etc. Convergence insufficiency means the eyes struggle to focus easily for near tasks, ...

What happens if you have convergence problems?

If the convergence problems are left untreated, suppression can result. Suppression of vision in one eye occurs when the brain actively shuts off one eye, causing loss of binocular (two-eyed) vision and depth perception. In this case, some or all of the following symptoms may present:

What is the best treatment for CI?

Vision therapy is highly recommended for treatment of CI. Standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medications, and surgery will not be effective in treating the condition. Vision therapy focuses on training the eyes to work together to improve 3-D vision, depth perception, and clear binocular vision.

What are the symptoms of CI?

There are many different symptoms that can develop as a result of CI— these are the most common: Eyestrain. Headaches or muscle tension. Blurred or double vision. Difficulty reading and concentrating. Uses finger or ruler when reading. Avoidance of close work. Poor hand-eye coordination. Anxiety.

Can CI be misdiagnosed?

A proper diagnosis of CI can prevent a child from being labelled as “lazy,” “spacey,” “clumsy”, “anxious,” and even misdiagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia, or mild autism .

What is convergence insufficiency?

Convergence insufficiency (CI) is a common vision condition that affects up to 17 percent of children and adults. While CI is generally diagnosed in children and young adults, many adults develop the vision condition later in life as well. Symptoms of CI typically surface following periods of prolonged near vision activities, ...

How long does it take for vision to improve after CI?

According to the study, 50 percent of the adults claimed that they had “improved vision” or had been “cured” after 12 weeks of therapy. The study concluded that with continued sessions, there may have been an increase in the number of adults with CI that showed improvement from vision therapy.

Can CI be used for single vision?

Based on these findings, research suggests that with a program of vision therapy, adults with CI can still learn how to use their fusional convergence skills for clear, single vision— without straining their eyes to see.

Can CI be caused by stress?

In some cases, CI symptoms can appear during stressful time periods, such as taking care of a new baby, working overtime, or after the loss of a job. While vision problems that develop as a result of stress are usually temporary, they can be quite uncomfortable and lead to an increase in stress levels.

Can CI be detected later in life?

As researchers continue to search for answers, some evidence suggests that: CI symptoms can in fact develop during adulthood. CI may be noticed later in life if the condition has been hidden for many years.

Does focusing lens help with convergence?

However, relying on the focusing lens will hide any convergence difficulties. Moreover, while using the focusing lens to help you to see clearly may suffice through early adulthood, the lens will begin to lose flexibility as you age, causing the focusing system to weaken.

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