Ocular Disease: Eye Coordination Problems

---

Eye coordination problems occur when there is an inability to utilize both eyes together and are often due to impaired vision development or a lack of proper muscular control and development. An eye injury or certain diseases may also lead to problems with eye coordination, but occur infrequently.

Good eye coordination is necessary for good vision. Each eye views an object at a slightly different angle than the other and therefore is responsible for sending different images to the brain for processing. The brain the combines the images (via a process called fusion) into a single 3-D view. When the eyes do not work in a synchronous fashion, the brain may be unable to fully fuse the two images. An individual may experience eyestrain in response to the body's effort to align the eyes or, in more severe cases, may result in double vision or lead to other conditions such as amblyopia.

Poor coordination of the eyes may cause headaches, dizziness, eyestrain, and double vision. One may also experience difficulty concentrating or reading. This condition may be difficult to detect in children, but a few telling signs may include covering one eye, difficulty with fine tasks and poor academic or athletic performance.

This condition mainly affects children under 6 years of age with impaired visual development or muscular control. Also, injury and certain diseases that affect visual or muscular development may also lead to problems with coordination. These factors are quite rare, however.

This condition, in most cases, is successfully treated with prescription eyeglasses and/or visual therapy. In certain cases, surgery may be required to correct the problem. Most problems with eye coordination are corrected with a high rate of success.

Early detection and treatment is extremely beneficial and may help to prevent other, more serious vision problems from occurring as well as help a child to improve his/her performance in the classroom.