A squint, or strabismus, is a condition in which the eyes do not align properly. One eye turns inwards, upwards, downwards, or outwards, while the other one focuses at one spot.
A Squint, or strabismus is a medical condition in which the eyes do not align properly. They do not look in the same direction at the same time. The disorder occurs due to poor eye muscle control. Other reasons are, improper balance of eye muscles, faulty nerve signals to the eye muscles, and focusing faults (usually long sight). Due to these complications, eyeballs may converge or diverge, thus obstructing proper functioning of the eye. The disorder can affect at any age (adult or baby). A child may be born with a squint or develop the condition right after birth. In case, the child develops the condition 6-7 weeks after birth, it is necessary to consult a doctor (eye specialist) and get them tested. Children with squints may also have poor vision in the affected eye. The sooner the treatment and care starts, the better the results.
Symptoms of squint are often difficult to detect. People often mistake unusual look of the eyes as squint. Children may often complain about vision problems. In case the problem is squint, a specialist should be consulted. The common symptoms could include:
⇔ Blurred vision.
⇔ Lazy eye (amblyopia) can develop: A condition where brain ignores signals.
Children and babies should have routine eye checks as they develop. The American Optometric Association recommends starting eye tests at 9 months, or earlier if the child has a constant eye turn.
⇔ Glasses: If hypermetropia, or long-sightedness, is causing the squint, glasses can usually correct it.
⇔ Eye patch: Worn over the good eye, a patch can get the other eye, the one with the squint, to work better.
⇔ Eye drops and eye exercises may help.
Surgery is only used if other treatments are not effective. It can realign the eyes and restore binocular vision. The surgeon moves the muscle that connects to the eye to a new position. Sometimes both eyes need to be operated on to get the right balance.
⇔ Hold a pencil at arm's length, around midway between the eyes
⇔ Look at the pencil while moving it toward the nose, and try to maintain a single image of it
⇔ Keep moving the pencil toward the nose until you can no longer see it as a single image
⇔ Hold the pencil at the closest point where a single image is possible
⇔ If you cannot regain a single image, start again
A study of patients who did two sets of 20 "push-ups" each day for 12 weeks suggested that the exercise can be "an easy, cost-free, and effective therapy."
