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Many people believe that if a person develops or is born with a squint, it is permanent. Also, there is a false assumption that squinting eye in children needs no evaluation till they are grown up.

To break a few myths in India, it is important to first understand facts about squint and consequences when left untreated. The general incidence rate of strabismus, or squint, is between 4% and 6%. However, premature new-borns have an incidence rate of 30% to 40%.

What is a Squinting eye?

To keep your eyes straight brain eye coordination is required. There are nerve fibres connecting brain centres with eye muscles which send signals to move eyes in different directions. Squint can arise due to either neurological (defect in connecting nerve fibres) or local cause (defect in eye muscles).

There are types of squints you must know about & what they are known as:

Types of Squint Eyes:

– An eye that turns inwards is called Esotropia.

– An eye that turns outwards is called an Exotropia.

– An eye that turns upwards is called a Hypertropia.

– An eye that turns downwards is called Hypotropia.

Before treatment, there are two significant subjects to understand.

– The age group of the person having a squint

– What are the symptoms of squint?

Childhood Squint

In children, squint is easily noticeable. It can be present since birth. In some situations, it resolves by 6 months but if it persist, it’s always advisable to seek medical help from a child eye care specialist known as Paediatric Ophthalmologist. During child’s developmental period, the eye and brain co-ordination develops during the first 8 years of life and it leads to full vision development. Misalignment of eyes prevents this brain-eye co-ordination as the image in misaligned eye is not falling on its corresponding point on the retina. With time, the child may stop using this eye and if left untreated, may lead to lazy eye (Amblyopia) i.e vision cannot reach 100% even after spectacle use or any other treatment. After 8 years of age, once full eye brain coordination develops it’s difficult to achieve full vision even with various treatment modalities.

Adult Squint Eyes

Some adults, or even older adults, develop squints due to medical problems such as thyroid, diabetes, head trauma, stroke, etc. But it is curable by non-surgical treatments and surgical modalities.

Symptoms of squint

In general it’s difficult for children to understand symptoms. They might complain of frequent headaches, blurring of vision and intolerance to light. Signs are more important than symptoms in children. You might notice abnormal head posture like face turn to specific side or head tilt while watching television or while reading.

If you notice sudden onset of squint in your child, please consult paediatric ophthalmologist immediately.

Adults can complain of double vision, tilting of objects, headache and even limitation of eye movements depending upon type and onset of squint.

Treatment for Squint

NON SURGICAL– This includes various types of vision therapy. It’s not necessary that squint can be corrected only surgically. Depending upon the type of squint and age of presentation, paediatric ophthalmologist can help you with type of eye exercises (both office based and home based) and achieve better control of squint. There are various types of exercises depending upon the type of squint. Few of them are Pencil Push up exercises, Brock String and Barrel Cards.

Prism Eyeglasses: It is used for short-term purpose. Prism glasses are thin press-on vinyl stickers that can be added on both the front & back surface of your normal powered glasses.

Surgery: When other methods do not give beneficial results, surgery could be an option. Squint surgery involved changing position of eye muscles. There are total 6 eye muscles in each eye which are attached on white part of eyes. As parents, we usually get anxious or get panicked if surgery is advised for a child below 8 years. But, as the child needs straight eyes for normal and full vision development, your consulting pediatric ophthalmologist may advise surgery for the benefit of the child.  Delaying surgery despite of paediatric ophthalmologist advice might not restore vision and will give only cosmetic results.

Conclusion

Squinting of eye is a condition that can be cured with various methods. Be more vigilant and prompt in consulting your paediatric ophthalmologist if your child is having squint as it can lead to lazy eye if not treated timely especially below 8 years of age. But the right treatment under experts is now possible in Mumbai. Iksha Eye Care has a team of the best paediatric ophthalmologists in Mumbai to treat squint eyes. We have a team of doctors who are well-experienced and passionate about serving every child as we believe that ‘every child is special’

Book an appointment with our squint specialists in Mumbai today.

A lazy eye is when vision in one eye or both eyes does not develop appropriately. In medical terms, it is called Amblyopia. This interferes with development of finer visual functions like appreciating contrast and depth perception.

Lazy eye usually develops in early years of life; if identified correctly, it can be treated. It happens because one or both eyes cannot build a solid link to the brain, making one eye or both eyes weak and subsequently ‘lazy’ to carry out its main function i.e vision. The brain favors the better eye allowing the weaker eye to get worse with time.

Symptoms of lazy eye are:

– Trouble telling how near or far away an object or person is

– Squinting or shutting one eye

– Head tilting

– Bump into things on a particular side

– Favor one side of the body

Who can have a lazy eye?

Children with

• Uncorrected refractive error
• Squint (misaligned eyes)
• Any other cause obscuring or obstructing the light to enter in eyes like cataract

What happens if lazy eye is left untreated?

Uncorrected Refractive Errors:

In case, child is having glasses and he or she is not wearing it, especially if numbers are high or number is in one eye only, image on the retina (visual membrane) will be blurred. The first 8 years of life is very crucial for vision development. Blurred image causes a weak eye-brain coordination and thus unable to attain vision fully. Thus, the eye’s potential vision may not be achieved and hence locked at a certain percentage of vision. As a result of which, even if the corrective glasses are prescribed at a later age, the vision might not achieve the 100% mark.

Thus, it’s essential to get your child screened at 6 months, 1 year, preschool (3 years) , preprimary ( 5 years) and then annually, even if the child is not complaining of any vision problems.

Strabismus:

Lazy eyes can cause squint and squint can cause lazy eyes.

Cataract

Children can be born with cataract or can develop cataract at a later age. This prevents the light to fully enter inside the eyes and fall on its back part called as the retina (visual membrane). This affects the eye-brain coordination. It is a myth that children should not undergo cataract removal at an early age. Early removal of cataract can help the outside light to fully reach the back part of the eye after entering the eye and can result in better vision development.

Multiple questions may be there about the lazy eye that can be resolved. Please consult an experienced and certified Child Eye Care specialist known as Pediatric Ophthalmologist for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Can one Treat Lazy Eye?   

Treatment is possible if the lazy eye has been noticed in early childhood. Glasses, eye drops, exercise, contact lenses, eye patches, or vision therapy can help to improve the eyesight and function of both eyes.

Can we treat lazy eye in adulthood?

With latest advances in technology, if lazy eye is not treated in childhood, we still have a hope to treat it in adulthood.

Trial of patching and recent software based exercises might help us to achieve better vision. Both office based and home based therapies are available. For further queries, please consult your Pediatric Ophthalmologist.

When you are the one who is looking for proper treatment for impaired eye issues in your beloved child, Iksha Eye Care superpeciality eye hospital situated conveniently at Andheri, Mumbai, is one of the top-rated finest eye hospitals providing the latest equipment and technology for all child eye care treatments. Iksha Eye Care hospital is known for one of the best squint surgery in Mumbai. Iksha Eye Care consists of an experienced team who understands the needs and moods of a child and is headed by Dr Pooja Ghodke, one of the best Pediatric Ophthalmologist in Mumbai. Today we are treating numerous patients to help them see the world clearly under the guidance of Dr. Ghodke, who founded the hospital in 2020 to provide best-in-class eye treatment under one roof and at an affordable cost. If you are looking for an expert for your kid, connect instantly for a check-up & know everything about lazy eye.

Vision development is one of the most important milestone for child’s development & building a promising career. It’s the key to perform better in academics, sports & other activities. After birth, eye growth takes place and gradually vision develops to its full potential provided clear image falls on retina (posterior part of eye). Any refractive error will blur the image and this will hamper complete vision development.   Uncorrected refractive errors in children lead to poor academic growth, injuries, reduced social participation, and functional impairment. Correction of visual impairment with spectacles is the most cost-effective intervention for improving eye care and thus the productivity and functionality of children.

Signs of Vision Problems

Since children usually don’t complain about vision problems, few signs can help you understand need for eye checkup.

• If the child is complaining of discomfort in eyes
• Rubbing or blinking or squeezing their eyes
• Covering one eye
• Regular headaches
• Seeing double
• Losing place when reading
• Watching television too closely
• Repeated eyelid swellings

When the child is facing these issues, there is a need for eye specialists. Spectacles have a quality of being simple to use, non-invasive and inexpensive. However, spectacle power calculation is entirely different in children as compared to adults. Their inherent eye muscle power makes it difficult to determine exact spectacle power by automated machines. Specific eye drops are required to relax eye muscles. Correct spectacle power calculation thus play an important role in such children as their entire life depends on it.

As a responsible parent, you must plan a visit to an experienced Pediatric Ophthalmologist if they notice the aforementioned eye problems in their child. They will guide you through opting for the right spectacles & contact lenses for your child. The proper treatment will manage eye issues and reduce the chance of increasing eye problems.

Schedule an Appointment with a Pediatric Ophthalmologist.

Different refractive error

A child with impaired vision may experience the following issues:

Myopia: When a child can’t see things far clearly, it is a standard error in children.

Hyperopia: This type of vision issue is not very common among children. Kids face issues reading or seeing things close to them.

Astigmatism: Children usually see objects blurry due to light rays preventing them from meeting at a common focus.

When you visit pediatric eye specialist, he/she will do a thorough eye checkup which includes visual acuity test to see how the objects appear & eye alignment to see how the eye functions. After putting eye drops, they recommend spectacles if required.

• In children, spectacle power matters and spectacle frame plays crucial role in delivering that power and at the same time protecting the eyes. Thus, it is necessary to be careful before choosing them. As children are always active, frames can break and hurt the eyes thus selection of right frame and good fit is very essential.

Following are essential factors to keep in mind when selecting glasses for kids.

• Choose round or rectangular frames which cover whole eyes.
• Opt for plastic frames which are durable
• An elastic strap can help to keep glasses in position for active kids
• Polycarbonate lenses are best as they are tough, shatterproof & light.
• Hard coat lenses are recommended as they are less prone to scratches and stronger.

It is necessary to be clear with instructions for points like

• In children, glasses are usually meant for constant use unless specified,
• Always wear and remove glasses with eyes closed and hold glasses with both the hands ,
• It is most important to clean the glasses & should also be aware of how to clean them.

Conclusion

Suppose you see similar issues with your kid; don’t delay any more & book an appointment with Iksha Eye Care. We provide exceptional eye care, professional approach & treatment. You can book an appointment with the best pediatric ophthalmologist in Mumbai to treat your child. Iksha Eye care is one of the top-rated eye hospitals in Andheri, Mumbai.