1. What is strabismus?
A. Strabismus or squint is a condition in which the eyes do not align with each other while looking at an object. It is a problem with either the extraocular muscle or the nerves supplying them.
2. What causes strabismus?
A. Childhood strabismus can occur due to muscle dysfunction, farsightedness, problems in the brain, trauma, or infections.
3. What are the risk factors of strabismus?
A. Brain disorders such as :
Cerebral palsy
Brain tumor
Diabetes
A family history of strabismus
Damaged retina
Stroke
Traumatic brain injury
Eye and vision conditions such as lazy eye (amblyopia), hyperopia (farsightedness) or vision loss
4. What are the types of strabismus?
A. The types of strabismus according to the way it turns are:
Esotropia (eyes turn inwards)
Exotropia (eyes that turn outwards)
Hypertropia (eye turn upwards)
Hypotropia (eye turn downwards)
5. What are the signs and symptoms of strabismus?
A. Signs of strabismus, as noticed by the patient’s relatives are
Crossing or drifting of the eyes, squinting of one eye closed, rubbing of one or both eyes, and a compensatory head posture.
Long-standing cases usually have little or no symptoms, like double vision or “split” vision (like seeing 1+1/2 images), unstable images, eye strain or fatigue, headache and an awareness that an eye is moving about.
6. What are the risks of untreated strabismus?
A. Untreated childhood strabismus may lead to permanent blindness.
7. How do I know, if I have strabismus? Is there any test available?
A. The doctor may be able to diagnose the cross eyes or squint just by looking at it. But for confirmation, the following tests are done.
Detailed examination of the eye
Determination of refractive error
Refraction & fundoscopy (to exclude other causes)
8. Is there a treatment available for strabismus?
A. Treatment of certain cases of squint in adults includes surgical and non-surgical options. Non-surgical includes using prismatic glasses, patching (occlusion) prisms, botulinum toxin injection, monocular occlusion or fogging.
