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Strabismus Causes and Risks:
Strabismus is caused by a lack of muscle coordination between the eyes, causing the eyes to point in different directions. The eyes are unable to focus simultaneously on a single point.
Strabismus may result from problems with the extraocular muscles (the six muscle pairs that move the eyes), problems with neurological control of the extraocular muscles, neurotoxins, blindness , mechanical problems in the eye, or mechanical obstruction to vision in one eye during early life. In adults, strabismus may be a symptom of various brain disorders or systemic diseases.
Some of the disorders that can be associated with strabismus include: Strabismus causes a double image to form, and the brain suppresses the image of the diverting eye, causing amblyopia. Strabismus may lead to vision loss in the nondominant eye.
A family history of the disease is a risk factor. farsightedness may be a contributing factor.
Prevention:
There is often no way to prevent strabismus from developing.
Symptoms:
- uncoordinated eye movements
- double vision
- vision in only one eye with loss of depth perception
- eyes that appear crossed
- eyes that do not align in the same direction
Signs and Tests:
Your health care provider will first determine if the child truly has strabismus. This is often as simple as shining a pinpoint of light into the child's eyes and observing if the reflection in each eye is on the same place on each cornea. If the child has strabismus, a workup will be done to determine the cause of the strabismus.
The physical examination will include a detailed examination of the eyes. The patient may be asked to look through a series of prisms to determine the extent of eye divergence. The eye muscles will be tested to determine the strength of the extraocular muscles.
Tests include:
Treatment:
Initially, strategies to strengthen the weakened muscles and thereby realign the eyes are attempted. This may include wearing a patch over the unaffected eye, wearing special eyeglasses, or performing eye muscle exercises. Surgery may be required to realign the eye muscles if strengthening techniques are unsuccessful.
Prognosis:
With an early diagnosis, the defect can usually be corrected. With delayed treatment, vision loss in one eye may be permanent.
Complications:
- loss of vision in one eye
- embarrassment over facial appearance with eye patch
Call Your Healthcare Provider:
Call for an appointment with your health care provider or eye doctor if your child complains of double vision or difficulty with the vision, or if your child appears to be cross-eyed or the eyes do not fix on the same point.
Strabismus requires prompt medical evaluation.
People are very sensitive to other individuals' eye positions. By looking at another person's eye position, one can very effectively gauge where they are looking. People are also sensitive to eyes that are not looking in the same direction, which is referred to as crossed eyes (strabismus). Other more specific medical terms refer to eyes turned either outward or inward, or that are abnormally rotated. Any appearance of crossed eyes in young children should be immediately evaluated, as should recent onset of crossed eyes in an adult.
Imbalance in muscle tension can pull the eyes in separate directions, producing strabismus. When an eye is turned out, it is commonly referred to as walleyes.
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