Definition
Definition
Strabismus is a deviation of one eye from the other, caused by an imbalance in the tension of the eye muscles. A person with strabismus looks cross-eyed.
Generalities
It is accompanied by a deviation of one or both eyes:
- Inwards, the strabismus is converge or esotropia, commonly seen in young children.
- Towards the outside, the strabismus is diverge or exotropia, it mainly affects older children and adults.
Cause
Cause
In children, the origin of strabismus (which is normal at birth and should disappear after a few months) is generally due to:
- A myopia (impaired vision of distant objects: the image of the object forms in front of the retina).
- A farsightedness (poor perception of close objects).
Treatment
Treatment
The treatments for strabismus are:
- Persistent strabismus beyond six months after birth requires consultation at an ophthalmologist. The correction carried out will suggest wearing glasses or contact lenses.
- Other techniques can help wake up the lazy eye (place a slightly opaque glass in front of it, which forces the eye to work).
- The use of sector glasses, with frosted vertical strips on each side of the nose, forces the child to straighten the eyes, and thus spontaneously correct the lack of parallelism of the visual axes.
- In the worst case, a minor surgical procedure is possible between the ages of 4 and 6, but it does not always solve the visual problem. It consists of moving the insertion of certain muscles that allow the eyeball to move. This operation requires hospitalization for two to three days and, after the procedure, the wearing of corrective lenses associated with a orthoptic rehabilitation.
Correction, in all cases, must occur before the age of 5 to 6 years: in fact, in this case, it is total.
After this age, recovery is around 50 to 60%.