A patient of mine reported yesterday seeing a shadow overlapping image. She has been noticing this since childhood. This was a very intelligent woman, who is now in her 30's. She couldn't believe that everyone didn't see this way. It is so interesting to me to think about a person's perception of their visual world. If someone saw a particular way their whole life, of course they would believe that was the view for everyone. It is like a person who is nearsighted and never had glasses. The first time they get glasses they are amazed at the details in the world. It is like that for a person who has vertical heterophoria. When the eyes are aligned, the shadow image goes away. The patient experiences clarity, detail and depth perception sometimes for the first time in their lives!
This just drives home the point that as a good doctor, I need to ask questions and listen to the answers. How many times do I hear from a patient that they suffer from headaches but it isn't their eyes. Then I discover that it was their eyes all along. They were never asked the right questions.
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