If your eyes aren’t working perfectly together, then you may see double – a single object may appear as two objects. They may be side by side or one on top of another. Sometimes one of the images may appear tilted.
You may notice that the double vision only occurs when you’re looking in certain directions, for example, all the way to the side, or straight ahead.
Some people with double vision can also have problems with nausea (feeling sick), vertigo (a spinning sensation) or a lack of coordination which can affect their balance.
> Read more about how vision can affect balance
Treatment
As with optic neuritis, if your double vision is related to a relapse if often improves on its own. A course of steroids may help speed up recovery. These are taken either as an infusion (or 'drip') into the hand or arm, or as tablets.
If your double vision is particularly troubling, there are things you can do to reduce the impact of it. Patching one eye blocks out one of the two images and can provide some relief. If you wear glasses, you can get these fitted with special prisms to realign the two images. These help to ease the imbalance caused by double vision by making your brain think your eyes are working together.