D I S E A S E I N F O R M A T I O N
E Y E
Squint | |
| A squint is an eye condition in which the eyes do not focus on the same point. This deviation of the eyes is commonly referred to as cross eyes. However, the deviation can be in any direction. Most cases of squint are obvious but a difficulty in diagnosis can arise when the deviation is small. Squint is caused by an imbalance in the muscles which help move the eyes and hold them in any particular spot. If suspected, the diagnosis of squint can be confirmed by an eye specialist. A minor degree of eye deviation in one eye can be picked up by a routine eye test which is carried out on all pre-school children, usually at the age of 4. With a deviation of one eye, a child will attempt to correct the associated double vision by learning to suppress the image from the devastating eye and vision in that eye fails to develop. Once this defective vision in one eye is found to be present, then the wearing of an eye patch over the good eye for a varying period of time ranging from a week at the age of 1 to a year at the age of 6 will restore the vision in the defective eye and surgery to correct the squint can then be initiated. If vision is the same in both eyes with or without the need for patching, then the treatment of squint is surgical followed by eye exercises to assist in the correcting of any minor deviation which might still be present. |