Seeing ghost images (double vision) in both eyes

Eye care
1

I have been seeing ghost images in both eyes since around the end of august 2017. The best way to describe it is seeing faint extra images coming from the top and bottom of whatever i am looking at, which is something lighter than its surroundings( like a street light at night or subtitles in movie). Imagine the letter “A” with a white font, on a screen on a black background, I would see faint copies of this letter above and below it. This happens with anything that is bright in darker background ( a black letter A in a white background would be fine).These ghost images can move further vertically away from the original, depending on how hard i squint. When i turn my head sideways, it occurs horizontally instead.

I have started using glasses since around october and I got them thinking it would make it go away, and it does while wearing them (not entirely sometimes), but i do not recall ever in my life having this problem before I got them. I am nearsighted and have been my whole life, but these double images are new and conisitent. Even with glasses, these ghost images are come out if i squint.

 I have been to several optometrists and they were completely useless. These optometrists confirmed that it isnt cataracts and astigmatism. I read that it MIGHT be some type of diplopia, but not entirely sure. I just want to know if anyone who wears glasses or not, has been experiencing the same thing and what they do to treat or diagnose it. Please help, this is ruining my quality of life. Glasses help me see and I should have got them a while ago. But this problem seems unrelated, does everyone who wears glasses have the same issue?  

2

So true diplopia will go away when you cover an eye or another. And diplopia isn't anything bad just means your eyes aren't aligned properly muscle issue usually or strabismus. I have it when I look to the left but it can't be cured with glasses because it will wreck my central vision. My first suggestion wear your glasses and don't squint lol. Second go to an opthomologist not an optometrist they are no medical doctors they are good for routine stuff but if your truely need prism in your glasses go to a opthomologist. I'm a opthalmic technician and see it all the time. Ghost images are usually diplopia higher apperaitions or astigmatism occasionally cornea related. Go to a professional smile

3

I had trouble with the same thing. I had cataract surgery in both eyes and it didn’t.t clear up the problems.  The doctor diagnosed fourth nerve palsy and is trying to correct it with prism lenses.  So far it hasn’t worked, next stop is a specialist.  You need to see a good eye doctor.  

4

i have the same problem if not more serious...it has been 6 months since i started seeing double images... it was sudden and literally developed over night. i see double images all the time and firstly thought that it may be  because of my new cylindrical no. but that was not the case. i see far images as double even with my glasses on and am far sighted . the doctors in my hometown also proved to be useless. i had MRI scans and all eye related tests but to no avail. my condition is still getting worse as i am now even starting to see nearby objects as double. so i guess you can feel a bit content as you are not the only one experiencing such things!!! 

5

Hi sorry I'm a bit late to the discussion. You need to get your eyes checked out by a decent specialist eye doctor as it could be Keratoconus. Not trying to scare you or anything. Keratoconus is progressive thinning of the cornea which makes it go cone shaped. I have keratoconus in both eyes but I left it too long to go and get checked out so I am now in the advanced stage of the disease where not much can be done. My ghosting is awful. It's probably just mild astigmatism or wrong glasses prescription as Keratoconus is fairly rare but it's not worth the risk as it can be treated and corrected if caught early enough. I seriously wouldn't wish the horrible

6

(Continuation phone screwed up) I wouldn't wish this horrible disease on anyone, not even my worse enemy. Wishing you the best of luck and please please get thoroughly checked out.

7

Hello i aldo have keratoconus in both eyes and mine is seriously advanced i have had a graft in the left eye and the right eye is seriously bulging,obviously ghosting is common in keratoconus but i have started to see it in my right eye even with my contact lense in.is this normal?it never used to

8

I've had the exact same problem for 2 years now. I have seen 2 specialists to no avail. It has been confirmed that it's not cataracts, glaucoma, a tumor, anything neurological, or karatoconus. Getting pretty stinking old!

9

I know this is old but have you had your eyelid glands checked? If they are clogged it can cause you to have a poor tear film. Dry eye can cause it as well

10

Could you find anything about it? I have same problem. Started 3 months ago. I do not think it is about strabismus.

11

I've been fighting double vision for three years now . cataract surgery in both eyes epiretinal surgery in right eye. Prisim lens in glasses and still have the ghost image. I even went to a specialist on double vision and she said my eyes didnt track right but not bad enough for surgery. Its very frustrating.

12

yeah i did.. it has been almost 2 years now. The problem increased suddenly around a month ago...I now have light sensitivity, i see afterimages and white spots in my vision and also static when i close one of my eyes. i have gone to all the doctors and have sat for all the eye and brain tests. it seems useless now and as i was searching the forums i think that i may have a desease called VISUAL SNOW which can also cause ghost images, and matches all my recent symptoms. Though it has no treatment for now as it is very rare... So we'll see what the next step is after this.

13

Today, the treatment of double vision is not complicated, such as wearing a special glasses, eye masks, or contact, but it depends on your type of double vision.

14

TL;DR I believe i have the same problem as the original poster and i have no clue as to what's going on, i'll just post my experience here in hope that it can help someone else or maybe someone knows whats going one and can help.

For a few years already i've spent at least a few hours a day reading, always with a white or another light font in a black/dark background/screen and since about 2 or 3 months ago i've started randomly getting double vision but only when i'm trying to read something light with a dark background. If i try reading in a black font in a white screen i have no problems.

This did not happen every time i've read. The first time it happened i stopped reading for about 30min and after that everything was normal so i ignored it. About a week later it happened again and i was already considering going to a doctor but then it happened the very next day so i went to see an ophthalmologist but he didn't find anything wrong with me (at that time i still hadn't realized that the problem only occurred with light fonts in dark backgrounds). After that i tried a neurologist made an MRI but still found nothing wrong. After that it started occurring somewhat more frequently and around the 6 or 7th time it happened i finally linked it with the light font on dark backgrounds so i stopped reading that way and switched to black letters on white screens only and i thought the problem was solved.

Today, after about a month with supposedly no problems i was reading some text on my computer and had to occasionally read one or two lines of text in a black screen which i thought would be fine but after suddenly switching to the dark background it was extremely blurry again. If i squinted i could still read the text but it was extremely annoying, closing any one eye did not help either, it was basically the same symptoms as described by the original poster.

As i've just discovered that i still have this problem i still didn't do anything about it except for searching the internet and finding this thread but i'll try another ophthalmologist as soon as possible and i plan to update this if i find out anything...

15

I had some of the same issues and was finally diagnosed with keratoconus. I had to see a specialist, so I don't know if any opthamologist can diagnose it or not. If that's what you have, it sounds like a mild case, so you'd probably just need the contacts. Good luck in your search.

16

Mine was due to inflammation and/or dryness

I was prescribed systane and flarex

17

I had this issue 16 months ago. It's more prominent at night when the sky is dark. I can't see the ghost image during daytime. The strange part is the ghost image shifted (up or down) if I squint or raise my eyebrows.

image

At the same time I had some strange feeling everyday for 12 months. 1. standing in a pool and feel the body slightly swaying back and forth with the water 2. difficulty trying to focus on an object , especially when turning my head. 3. dizzy or disoriented when walking in a super market, looking at goods on the shelves. It;s similiar to the feeling when looking at some poor youtube videos. Keep thinking if that is triggered by motion...

My family doctor asked me several times if I had anxiety because that can trigger dizziness. I thought that was non-sense.

Went to 2 ornithologists and was told I was OVER-OBSERVANT and they cound't see any neurological issues (can they really tell from looking at your eyes?). They told to me ignore it instead of focusing on it and trying to figure out what it is.

I thought they people are incompetent.

Everyday, from the moment I woke up, I kept thinking about "what's wrong with my eyes" . This went on for 12 months.

Until one day, I finally decided to 'give up' and take their words as the answer. Magically I started to feel feeling better (it's like night and day). Dizziness gone!

Then my appointment with neurologist finally came. he saw nothing .

Today, I still see ghost images on daily basis.... sometimes it got very bad, especially when I am tired or use the phone for extended period of time (maybe I am too old, 40 years old now).

Eyedrops like Systane or Hylo (preservative free) didn't seem to help until bought this eye-drop. Maybe it's just placebo but whatever. https://www.amazon.ca/Sante-Beaut%C3%A9ye-Anti-aging-Advanced-Drops/dp/B014K2O932

Bottom line, if you experience something similar to me, maybe it's time to check if you have anxiety.

good luck to us all.

18

i have the same issue i know OP is probably not going to respond since the post was years ago, so i thought id reply to you since you also have similar issue as me and posted recently. got any answers to your eye problem?? for me it started two months ago. ive had a rough couple of months health wise and turned out i had very low vitamin D. my symptoms were light headed, muscle weakness and shaking, imbalance, anxiety and eye issues. after taking vitamin d3 for 7 weeks i feel better however my eye symptoms have not gone away unfortunately.

my eyes are usually dry every morning, at times runny, swollen lids, photosensitive. and ghost lettering images on white font behind black background. the ghost image was the most concerning thing i saw the eye doc twice and she could not find dry eye issues or any optic nerve issues. She did say my eyes are "slightly imbalanced when looking down, but nothing too bad". this got me concerned, maybe the muscle weakness impacted my eye muscles or my imbalance was due to my vision? After doing some research of my own i realized that this is not true double vision as most things i see only one of but white text behind a dark background i get the vertical hazy replica. for me i have moderate astigmatism in both eyes around 2.50 so its most likely uncorrected astigmatism. its not binocular double vision because like you its there when i close one eye or the other or keep them both open. its there the most when i squint like OP. Or it may be eye strain due to anxiety and not wearing my eye glasses. i am waiting for an opthamologist referral but i am hoping its fixable. Please let me know if you discovered your cause!

19

Yes, my issue is keratoconus, but I didn't have the other symptoms you mention. You should know more once you see the specialist.

20

i have symptoms similar to yours; ghosting vision, imbalance, anxiety, and low vitamin D. And I also have fasciculations, but no weakness. I did brain MRI and was normal. Nothing in my ear either. My eye doctor didnt pay attention to the ghosting vision, but as you everything started at the same time. BTW I've been having these symptoms for 4 years.