The difference in the degree of my two eyes is getting bigger and bigger. What’s going on?

Nana (pseudonym), 20 years old this year, found that the vision of her two eyes was getting more and more different during the school physical examination. Nana was worried about the health of her eyes, so she came to the optometry department of Wuhan University Aier Eye Hospital for a vision test the next day.

After the doctor's examination, the doctor reminded that Nana's binocular disparity was 225 degrees. If it was not controlled, it would likely cause binocular vision dysfunction. Nana said that because she had fewer early classes in college and did not have to get up early, she would lie on her side in bed and play with her phone for several hours every night after turning off the lights. "I didn't expect that these bad habits that I didn't notice at ordinary times would have such a bad impact on my eyes."

Yan Binxian, member of the optometrists and opticians group of the Medical Technicians Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, attending optometrists, national first-level (senior) optometrists, and deputy director of the optometry department of the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University, reminds us that the inconsistency of the refractive state of the two eyes (such as a difference greater than 100 degrees) is also known as "anisometropia". In fact, most myopic people have a little difference between their eyes, but most of them have little difference in the degree of their eyes and will not have obvious symptoms. However, if the difference reaches more than 250 degrees, it will cause various visual problems, and we must pay attention to it and go to a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time.

How to prevent and control anisometropia?

For people who have a large difference in the degree of their binocular power, they should develop good eye habits, use both eyes in a balanced manner, do not lie on their side to play with their mobile phone, avoid tilting their head when looking at objects, look directly at the object, and look at the target with both eyes at the same time, so as to prevent the formation of a higher degree of refractive anisometropia.

For patients with higher degrees of anisometropia, they should go to a professional ophthalmology hospital and choose appropriate correction methods based on the diagnosis of professional doctors, including frame glasses, myopia surgery, orthokeratology lenses, contact lenses, etc., and use other diagnostic and treatment methods to avoid increasing the burden on the eyes and causing other eye diseases due to the difference in the size of objects seen by both eyes.

Zhou Chao, a member of the Medical Technician Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, a national first-level (senior) optometrist, and director of the optometry department of the Aier Eye Hospital affiliated to Wuhan University, said: If the refractive error exceeds 250 degrees, when wearing frame glasses, it will exceed the larger aberrations that most brains can tolerate, which needs to be taken seriously. If not intervened in time, it may cause binocular vision dysfunction, and even some children may suffer from amblyopia in the early stages. Therefore, if the difference in the degree of your binocular vision is getting bigger and bigger, you must go to a professional ophthalmology hospital regularly for a full set of vision examinations to avoid irreparable damage to your eyes.