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Nystagmus is a disease involving uncontrolled movements of the eyes in different directions and with varying frequency, in the horizontal or ellipsoidal plane. Nystagmus can be congenital or acquired under the influence of various factors. Check what are the causes and symptoms of nystagmus and how it is treated.
Nystagmusas a disease occurs when certain characteristic features of it appear. First of all, its form is taken into account - is itoblique, rotating, horizontal, vertical nystagmus .
Its speed and direction are also important. The most characteristic ispendulum nystagmus , where the eyes start to swing rhythmically both ways at the same time. Only slightly less characteristic is thejumping nystagmus . It occurs when the eye movement in one direction is much faster than in the opposite direction.
For practical reasons, nystagmus is considered to be any vibrating movement of the eyeballs in a given plane. And for such reasons, the following division of the features of this disease was adopted:
- figure - horizontal, vertical, rotating, oblique
- direction - marked according to the fast moving phase
- speed - slow, medium, fast
- intensity - determined on a three-level scale
- type - rhythmic or swing
In addition, it is distinguished by:
- central nystagmus
- peripheral nystagmus
- spontaneous nystagmus (can be of labyrinthine, central and fixative origin)
- induced nystagmus, i.e. induced - pathological or physiological, where nystagmus may be caused by thermal and kinetic stimuli as well as by galvanic and optokinetic stimulation
Vibrations of the eyeballs occur in nystagmus as a result of physiological or pathological stimulation of the receptor cells of the labyrinth - the vestibular organ, it is a part of the inner ear, consisting of the vestibule and semicircular canals. Prescription cells can be stimulated due to many causes, both external and internal (diseases of the central nervous system, eye malformations).
Acquired and congenital nystagmus
Acquired nystagmus may occur in diseases of the cerebellum, when using certain medications, e.g. barbiturates,when the labyrinth is damaged. Occasionally, it occurs in patients with paralysis or insufficiency of the extraocular muscles. Vertical nystagmus upwards (with the rapid phase upwards) often accompanies diseases of the brainstem, and may also occur in the course of poisoning, e.g. after alcohol poisoning.
In turn, congenital nystagmus may have a sensory form (eye movements may have equal speed in both directions - the so-called pendulum nystagmus or it may be jumping nystagmus, associated with a significant impairment of vision, caused e.g. by congenital cataract or vitiligo There may also be a motor form of congenital nystagmus, in this case it is jumping nystagmus, which usually develops in children and is not accompanied by visual disturbances. Many people with this disease find a position for the alignment of their eyes in which the nystagmus movements are reduced to a minimum (zero position), which significantly improves visual acuity.
Nystagmus: treatment
Nystagmus can be cured if it is well diagnosed, which means that the cause of the nystagmus is properly identified.
Surgical treatment is sometimes indicated, e.g. in cases where there is a blockage (the so-called silence zone) that causes nystagmus at a specific position of the eyeballs.
Adequate corrective and prismatic lenses may also be effective.
ImportantThe movements (vibrations) of the eyeballs do not have to be identical all the time, they can change depending on the direction in which one looks. Similar eye movements can appear correctly when we track moving objects, e.g. when looking through the window of a moving train, this is called optokinetic nystagmus.