Tag: strabismus

100 + Pairs of Glasses but my Struggle with Light and Sound Sensitivity and Dizziness is OVER

Yes, I do have 100+ pairs of glasses (most of those with one or two direction of prism) but that doesn’t mean that you will need all those pairs. I am on the unusual end of unusual!! I have found myself to have 40 phorias. (misdirected eye gaze.) That is 40 different combinations of eye gaze between my two eyes. The most phorias anyone can have are 81!

I am a musician and have always found it easy to remember notes, scales, chords and tunes. In the same way I can remember all of my phorias, and quickly work them out from all 8 directions of gaze in each eye, and choose the right pair of glasses.

And when I choose the right pair of glasses . . . it is AMAZING! I feel so much more centred and calm and so much more resilient when it comes to my sensitivities. Essentially I can LIVE my LIFE whereas previously I was merely surviving.

For anyone with sensitivities that stop them living life to the full, I strongly suggest you check out your phorias. You may just find the answer you have been searching for.

About Phorias

Help with Your Vision FAQ’s

The Left IN DOWN, Right IN DOWN Phoria – How it Feels

Today is a beautiful day and we planned an early cliff top walk at the sea. I have lot of pair of glasses now to treat my different phorias and felt sure I could find one in my collection for the phoria of the day. But I didn’t. Then I realised that my eye gaze was going IN and DOWN. This was a phoria that I hadn’t previously identified. Suddenly I understood why I felt a bit unstable and wobbly plus quite emotional at the thought of needing another pair of glasses!

We went down to the sea and when we arrived on the front (still in the car,) I noted that I felt a bit insecure. Also my light sensitivity wasn’t good. At this point I was wearing just prescription glasses with no prism. Then as the sun came come out, I guessed that my phoria would be an UP and OUT and my IN DOWN glasses worked very nicely.

However as we walked up the cliff, the weather changed and it became more overcast. I felt my insecure feelings again and the higher we got up the cliff, the more insecure I felt. I then actually felt that my eyes were going DOWN and IN. I felt hemmed in and a bit alone even though I was safe with my family. And in that moment I remembered lots of family holidays as a child where I felt exactly the same thing. Out of nowhere I would feel so insecure and in those moments no-one seemed able to reach me.

Now I know it is just a phoria and not a deep psychological emotional issue. I feel so relieved and like a weight as been lifted off my shoulders.

What Can I Do About it?

I need a pair of glasses with prism to redirect my gaze.

The prisms I need are Right and Left eye – Prisms O.25 OUT and O.25 UP. I make useful acronyms and I call these my ROULOU glasses. And I have ordered them. I look forward to wearing them and finding out just how good I could feel on a sunny day on the cliff tops in July!

To find out more about phorias please read: –

About Phorias

Help with Your Vision FAQ’s

Are Undetected Phorias Making Your Child Anxious?

The biggest thing I have gained by treating my phorias is a sense of stability that I never had. it is a feeling that I know where I am in time and space. The over-riding feeling is that I belong.

About Phorias

Help with Your Vision FAQ’s

Children, Phorias and Learning

What does it feel like to have an untreated phoria?

Basically you are looking at something but your eye gaze is somewhere else.

In reading, your child’s eye gaze could be between the words rather than on the words. it could be between the lines or at the top or bottom of the words.

In maths this is even more pronounced because we tend to work with lots of small symbols in a big space. At least with writing, the lines lead your eyes to try to focus into the correct place. But with no visual guide in maths, your gaze could be anywhere on the page. Your child’s gaze might well not be on the number, symbol, line or shape that they want to look at.

Misdirected eye-gaze left untreated causes exhaustion, frustration and low self esteem.

If you suspect your child has issues with eye gaze why not try the Reading Test with them.

Help with Your Vision FAQ’s

Where is Your Phoria Taking You?

Today I really wanted to work with a document on my computer where I am working with a lot of detail. It is a chart so I am also working with a grid. When I first got up and started this work, I felt great because I had the right pair of glasses on to treat a phoria. My phoria was RIGHT OUT and LEFT DOWN and OUT. So I was wearing prisms to bring my eyes to the correct position on the horizontal and vertical plane.

Then the day became brighter – just subtly- and I felt something change in myself. I could feel that I was starting to develop eyestrain and that this was causing me to tighten up in my jaw, shoulders and chest. I knew this was going to have a knock on effect on my breathing and my digestive system. Sure enough when I looked at the writing I was working on, my focus had changed. Whereas initially, I was focusing exactly on the words , now my eyes were going slightly above the words.

So I knew that my phoria must have changed. Now my eyes were RIGHT IN and LEFT OUT UP. And so I needed a different pair of glasses., which I don’t possess yet.

I can see a day of poor focus looming. It is a pity because everything is pretty clear. It is just that my eye are not looking where I intend them to look! And that is absolutely exhausting. I will have to have a big picture day and not a detail day for sure!

Why not have a go at the Reading Test and see where your eyes are looking today.

About Phorias

Help with Your Vision FAQ’s

The Right Eye UP IN Left Eye UP OUT Phoria – How it Feels

When I have this phoria, my eyes are both essentially looking up and to the left. I feel as if I just don’t want to speak because nothing really makes sense. I can have a conversation but I won’t be able to join up the dots. And the more fixed someone is on something they believe, the more angry I am. I can’t focus on anything – not even what I believe – so why should someone else have a voice?

Feeling like this is terrible. I feel like a terrible person but I know I am not really. This is just how the phoria is making me feel.

What Can I Do About it?

I need a pair of glasses with prism to redirect my gaze.

The prisms I need are Right eye – Prisms O.5 OUT, O.25 DOWN and Left Eye Prisms O.5 IN and O.25 DOWN. I make useful acronyms and I call these my RODLID glasses. And I have ordered them. I look forward to wearing them when this phoria dares to turn up next time!

Is a Phoria the Same as a Squint (Strabismus?)

Phorias and strabismus are both eye turns. They give you the feeling of having misdirected gaze. However strabismus can usually be detected by the human eye and although it might be intermittent, it will likely recur in the same direction to the same strength. A person will be said to have a right eye turn or a an up eye turn. The treatment is to align the eyes to attain binocular vision. This can be achieved with prism, or helped through vision therapy or behavioural optometry.

Phorias are more complex. A phoria is an eye turn or misdirected eye in any of the 8 compass points. And both eyes could have the same pattern, a different pattern or only one eye could be affected. When you add 8 to the possibility of having 0 phoria in one eye you get what is officially called the 9 cardinal points of gaze. When you do the maths and work out how many permutations there are for two eyes with nine points of gaze, you get to the number 81! Yes, there are 81 permutations of phoria. As an example of someone with phorias that disturb me, I have found that I have 18 permutations. So I have glasses made with small amounts of prism in one or two directions to treat all of these. It does make life more complicated but I get used to reading the light, knowing my needs, and it is worth it!

The Emotional Psychological Connections of Optics

We need direction to use power. We need power to use direction

Our experience of power in life can be affected by astigmatism

Our experience of direction in life can be affected by Strabismus (squint)

Neither always show themselves in the darkness of the optician’s room. If you are sensitive or suspect processing issues, ask to get checked in the daylight.

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