Strabismus usually occurs in one eye. This untreated vision defect not only disturbs your baby, it can also cause blindness. If you notice that your child is constantly squinting, take him to an ophthalmologist.

Ifthe childkeeps squinting, you should see an ophthalmologist with him, even if he is only 1-2 months old. If he squints sporadically, you can wait for the visit, because it is normal for the eye to run away until the age of 6 months. The child is just learning to look at the world and see as we do.

Zez - diagnostics

The cause ofstrabismusin children is usually abnormal eyeball structure or weak muscles to hold the eye in the right position. When diagnosing strabismus, the inside of the eye is first examined. Then, by covering the he althy and squinting ones in turn, the strabismus angle is determined. An older child can be tested for visual acuity by showing him a blackboard with pictures, and binocular vision can be checked using a synoptophore, a device similar to binoculars. When a child looks through it, he can see, for example, a lion with one eye, and a cage with the other. If he has good binocular vision, he will see a lion in a cage after a while. When cross-eyed - no.

You must do it

Take your baby to an ophthalmologist if you notice that:

  1. One eye of the baby is escaping somewhere - to the sides or downwards or upwards.
  2. Malec adopts strange positions that make it easier for him to see.
  3. Has trouble keeping balance (also when sitting).
  4. Uses one more efficient eyelet, covering the weakened with his hand.

Zez - treatment

The eye will not repair itself. And untreated strabismus will worsen. If a child is still squinting after 6 months of age, you need to think about therapy. When the cause of strabismus is a bad structure of the eyeball (the effect is myopia, farsightedness, sometimes astigmatism), the treatment consists in the correction ofeyesight defect , i.e. wearing glasses by the child. Lenses are usually changed every 3-6 months. An ophthalmologist often recommends covering the he althy eye (or glasses with glasses) to get the less sighted to work. The cover is removed from time to time to prevent possible deterioration of vision in the he althy eye. Such therapy brings good results. It can even be used by toddlers who are not yet one year old. At the same time, you need to persuade your child to exercise to strengthen the musclessupporting the eyeball, e.g. to follow a finger moving in different directions.
When strabismus has not been treated in a timely manner or the therapy has not brought the expected results, eye surgery may be necessary. It is usually performed at 5-6 years of age. It consists in the correct setting of the muscles controlling the eyeball.

Squint neglect

Strabismus delays a child's development. It has problems recognizing shapes, grabbing toys, crawling and walking. Doesn't judge distance correctly. It bumps against objects standing in the way. Neglect aggravates the defect, leading to amblyopia and even blindness if there is a defect in the "better" eye. The consequence of not treating strabismus is also the restriction of the choice of profession, e.g. you cannot be a pilot.

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Eye diseases and vision disorders