When the muscles of the eyes become paralyzed or weak, it may affect all the six muscles controlling the eye movement or one of the muscles, resulting in opthalmoplegia. There are two types of opthelmoplegia, namely, chronic progressive or external opthalmoplegia. While the former appears in adults, causing the eyelids to droop ad face difficulty in controlling the muscles that coordinates the movement of the eyes. The latter occurs due to nerve damage that controls the lateral eye movement. The doctor may decide which eye muscles are under the impact of the disorder, the part of the brain having trouble, or whether it may affect only one or both the eyes.

Causes and symptoms

Several infections, conditions or injuries affecting the central nervous system and brain may cause paralysis and weakness in the external and internal eyes. Some of the major causes of this problem are brain tumors, mutations of the gene, diabetes and the head injury. Furthermore, infections affecting the central nervous system, stroke, or multiple sclerosis may also cause opthalmoplegia [กล้ามเนื้อตาอ่อนแรง, which is the term in Thai]. Head injuries may rarely cause opthalmoplegia but multiple sclerosis is more likely to cause double or blurry vision. The symptoms of this condition may vary from person to person based on the eye muscle affected and the underlying causes.

Treatment options

Opthalmoplegia is more likely to occur in people with diabetes, especially in men with type 2 diabetes for over a decade. The doctors examining you may examine the eyes at first and then conduct an MRI or CT scan to study the condition more closely. Apart from this, the doctor may also order blood tests to determine the underlying causes. As far as the treatment for this condition is concerned, it may depend on the underlying causes and symptoms. The children may learn to live with the problem and adults need to wear special glasses or an eye patch to get rid of double vision.