Strabismus Health Article

Definition

Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes do not point in the same direction. It can also be referred to as a tropia or squint.

Description

Strabismus occurs in 2–5% of all children. About half are born with the condition, which causes one or both eyes to turn:

• inward (esotropia or "crossed eyes")
• outward (exotropia or "wall eyes")
• upward (hypertropia)
• downward (hypotropia)

Strabismus is equally common in boys and girls. It sometimes runs in families.

Types of strabismus

Esotropia is the most common type of strabismus in infants. Accommodative esotropia develops in children under age two who cross their eyes when focusing on objects nearby. This usually occurs in children who are moderately to highly farsighted (hyperopic).

Another common form of strabismus, exotropia, may only be noticeable when a child looks at far-away objects, daydreams, or is tired or sick.

Sometimes the eye turn is always in the same eye; however sometimes the turn alternates from one eye to the other.

Most children with strabismus have comitant strabismus. No matter where they look, the degree of deviation does not change. In incomitant strabismus, the amount of misalignment depends upon which direction the eyes are pointed.

False strabismus (pseudostrabismus)

A child may appear to have a turned eye, however this appearance may actually be due to:

• extra skin that covers the inner corner of the eye
• a broad, flat nose
• eyes set unusually close together or far apart

This condition, false strabismus, usually disappears as the child's face grows. An eye doctor needs to determine whether the eyeturn is true or pseudostrabismus.

With normal vision, both eyes send the brain the same message. This binocular fixation (both eyes looking directly at the same object) is necessary to see three-dimensionally and to aid in depth perception. When an eye is misaligned, the brain receives two different images. Young children learn to ignore distorted messages from a misaligned eye, but adults with strabismus often develop double vision (diplopia).

A baby's eyes should be straight and parallel by three or four months of age. A child who develops strabismus after the age of eight or nine years is said to have adult-onset strabismus.