Strabismus occurs when, when looking straight ahead, the position of the irises is different than the correct one – straight ahead.
What is strabismus?
Correctly positioned irises of the eye in babies, toddlers and adults should be positioned straight ahead. The iris is the round part of the eye (with a black, round pupil in the middle) by the color of which we define the color of the eyes. When the irises are not positioned correctly, strabismus occurs.
Strabismus can be monocular – when it affects one eye – or binocular – when it affects both eyes. It can be permanent or intermittent, it can be congenital or acquired; occurs in the population with a frequency of 2-5%. The most common cause of strabismus is a vision defect, less often it can be diseases of the eyeball, orbit and the brain.
At 2-3 months of age, an infant begins to follow objects with his eyes and show interest in moving objects, and from 4 months onwards both eyes are properly fixed (positioned). Hence, 4 months is the age limit when strabismus is diagnosed and considered abnormal
One should distinguish between pathological strabismus and the so-called physiological strabismus, i.e. the tendency to converge the eyeballs when looking at an object closely. This symptom disappears no later than between 9-12 months of age, and if this symptom persists beyond the age of 1, consultation with an ophthalmologist is required.
Types of squint
The following forms of strabismus are distinguished:
• convergent strabismus – most common when one or both eyes are turned inwards, i.e. towards the medial side (towards the nose)
• divergent strabismus – more common in older children when the eye (s) are turned outwards
• oblique strabismus – occurs when one of the eyes is pointing up, towards the eyebrows.
A disturbing symptom is the sudden appearance of strabismus in a still healthy child, especially when it is accompanied by headaches or other general symptoms. An urgent visit to the pediatrician and ophthalmologist is then necessary.
Treatment of strabismus
The treatment of strabismus should begin immediately after its detection, it is carried out by an ophthalmologist and mainly consists in fully correcting (improving) the vision defect. The treatment is not easy, especially in the case of a small child, because he or she does not want to wear glasses, often one of the glasses has to be covered. Surgical procedures for strabismus are performed in special cases of this defect.
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