Squint eyes are a problem that affects thousands of people in the world. The medical name for squint eye is strabismus or heterotropia, a medical term for eyes that are not pointing in the same direction. A squint actually happens due to lack of coordination between the eyes that results in a crossed eyed appearance. Squint can be divided into two forms
Constant Strabismus:
When a person is squint eyed all the time
Intermittent Strabismus:
When the condition happens only some of the time (usually due to stress and/or illness).
Squints can be categorized according to the track of the turn of the eye. Esotropia (convergent) pertains to an eye that move towards the nose; exotropia (divergent) describes an eye that points outward while hypertropia is a squint condition with the eye looking upwards.
Squint in the eyes may be due to birth or show up later during childhood. Most children tend to develop squint due to a flat, nasal bridge ad epicanthal folds. This is also known as ‘pseudosquint’ which disappears in a few months. However if the condition continues more than six months of age, the ophthalmologist has to check. For a child with squint problem, the eye doctor has three goals to achieve: make the eyes work together (maintain binocular vision), straighten the eyes and preserve the vision. It is a good practice for children to have their eyes checked from the time they turn a year old.
In case of the eyes not being aligned, it can be difficult to focus on two things at a given time. The brain begins to ignore the image from the squinting eye and looks at the image from the straight eye. Slowly the vision from the squinting eye begins to decreasing making that eye turn lazy. If it is not treated, the squinting eye may lead to permanent loss of vision also in some cases.
Though strabismus or heterotropia is a common condition in children, it can also affect adults. 5 percent of the population in the world is squint-eyed. Causes of squint eyes can be poor eye muscle, disease affecting the eye or a hereditary reason. By treating and correcting squint eyes, the vision can be restored and there can be coordination in the sight. Surgery is important only for those whose angle of deviation in the eye Is too much. The surgery for squint eyes is simply and takes only 15 minutes or less. In this procedure, both eyes are treated at one time, in one sitting or at times, two settings may be needed depending on the squint. The eyes muscles over the eye are basically operated during such a a condition.
Treatment for squint eyes:
Glasses are usually prescribed to improve focusing of the eyes. Medication can also be advised in the form of eye drops or ointment may also be used. For overactive muscle, injection medication may be needed. Eye exercises, which your doctor advises can be done either previous to or after the surgery. Surgery if necessary, does not lead to change in vision or power of the glasses, and patients can go back to their daily work in a week’s time.
