STRABISMUS IS A WORD FOR EYES THAT ARE NOT STRAIGHT OR DO NOT LINE UP WITH EACH OTHER.
- This problems is caused when the muscles of the eyes do not work together
- About one in 50 children has strabismus
- Half these children are born with the condition
- An illness or accident may cause strabismus
- If the problem is not found and treated it may lead to lazy eye (amblyopia)
- It can also affect your child’s personality because the may look different and feel embarrassed
FINDING AND TREATING THE PROBLEM EARLY
- Look for signs of lazy eye such as:
- Favoring one eye
- Tilting the head
- An eye drifts or wanders when the child is tired, sick or in bright light
- Your child tends to close one eye, especially in sunlight
- Rubbing the eyes
- Your child seems to blink too much
- Your child holds things close to his or her eyes
- Have your child’s vision checked one eye at a time
- Remember treatment works best when lazy eye is found early
- Child’s eyes should be checked shortly after birth, before starting school (age 3-4), and throughout the school years as needed
TREATMENT OF LAZY EYE
- First the doctor must treat the cause of Amblyopia, Some common treatments include:
- Glasses can correct focus or help eyes that are not lines up
- Surgery on eye muscles can help straighten the eyes if other treatments don’t work. Surgery can help both eyes work together
- Eye exercises may help the weak eye see better
- Along with treating the cause, the doctor must help the weak eye grow strong again. Some ways to do so are:
- Patching or covering the strong eye makes the “lazy†eye work harder
- Your child may need to wear an eye patch for a few weeks or many months
- Your child will have to visit the eye doctor regularly to see if the weaker eye is getting stronger
- Patching works best in early childhood, but a doctor may recommend patching at any time
- Medicines such as eye drops or ointment can be used instead of patching in some cases to blur the vision in the stronger eye
- Glasses or contact lenses can also be use to blur vision in the strong eye, helping the weak eye work harder
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