What is Strabismus?
Strabismus is when both eyes do not look at the same point at the same time because the eye muscles do not work together well to control the eye movement. Often time’s strabismus begins in early childhood and appears as though the child is “cross-eyed.”
Children, who complain about their eyes being tired, blurred or double vision or light sensitivity should be evaluated by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist for possible strabismus.
A child will not outgrow this condition and if left uncorrected, strabismus can become permanent in the form of a lazy eye.
What causes strabismus?
Childhood strabismus often has no known cause, although it tends to run in families.
Sometimes strabismus develops when the eyes compensate for other vision problems, such as farsightedness or a cataract. Other things that can increase your child’s risk for strabismus include an illness that affects the muscles and nerves, premature birth, Down syndrome, a head injury, and other problems.
Adults may develop strabismus from eye or blood vessel damage. Loss of vision, an eye tumor or a brain tumor, Grave’s Disease, stroke, and various muscle and nerve disorders can also cause strabismus in adults.
Treatment
Glasses, patching, medicines and surgery are the most common treatments for strabismus. Glasses can correct strabismus if the eyes alignment is just slightly off. Sometimes, eye exercises may be helpful.
In most severe cases, surgery is the only alternative. Our skilled eye surgeons can perform surgery to change the length or position of the muscles around the eye to help it align better.