Why do squints develop?

There are a number of reasons. The main ones are:

• Refractive (focusing abnormality)
• Eye muscle imbalance

Effects of Squints

The brain normally combines the slightly different images from each eye...

Symptoms

The brain then ignores the image from one eye and the vision in this eye may deteriorate (amblyopia)...

Babies and Young Children

It is quite normal for the eyes of newborn babies to ‘cross’ occasionally...

Lazy Eye

If a squint is left untreated, lazy eye (amblyopia) can develop...

Treatment

1. How will the squint be managed?

The first step is to prescribe glasses if there is a significant refractive error...

2. Refractive Abnormality and Spectacles

...Full correction of refractive error may correct the squint eye.

3. Will my child need to wear glasses?

This is decided by the ophthalmologist...

4. Eye Muscle Imbalance and Occlusion (Patching)

In order to focus both eyes on an object...

5. How does a patch affect the squint?

Patching purely improves vision by making the brain use the amblyopic eye...

6. Will my child need to wear a patch?

Possibly, if your child is less than eight years and if the vision in one eye is reduced...

7. Which eye does the patch need to be put on?

On the straight eye so that the eye with the poorer vision is used...

8. Does my child wear his glasses with the patch?

Yes, the patch should be worn on the face...

9. Atropine

Another way of getting a lazy eye to work is putting atropine into the good eye...

10. Can eye exercises cure the squint?

They can help to control some intermittent squints in older children.

Operation

Will an operation help?

Many children with squints do need an operation as well as glasses or patching...

Can you tell us about the hospital stay?

On the day of admission your child will be seen by your surgeon and the anaesthetist...

Frequently Asked Questions

Is squint common?

About 2-3% of the population have a squint.

Is my child too young to start treatment?

No, the earlier the better.

Does it matter if the squint is not treated?

Yes.

• If at some later point the sight in the better eye is lost...
• Your child will NOT grow out of the squint
• Sight will get worse in the affected eye
• Your child may be teased about their appearance
• Your child may be precluded from some jobs later if they have a lazy eye