Strabismus is the loss of parallelism of both eyes with each other. There are 6 extraocular muscles in each eye. A lack or excess of strength in one or more of these causes strabismus. While one eye is looking straight, the other may look inward, outward, up or down. In some cases, slippage is present in both eyes. Depending on the cause of the strabismus, it can occur continuously or temporarily. There is no single cause of strabismus. Strabismus can occur for different reasons.
Early diagnosis is very important in the treatment of strabismus. When it is too late for the first eye examination, besides aesthetic problems in children’s eyes, lifelong vision problems may occur. Even if children do not have eye complaints immediately after birth and during childhood, they should be regularly examined by a specialist ophthalmologist.
Strabismus TREATMENT
Since strabismus is caused by many reasons, the treatment also differs from person to person. Strabismus is an eye problem that can be treated at any age.
Treatment with Glasses: Some types of strabismus occur due to refractive errors. When the patient starts to use glasses, the strabismus improves. Glasses are sufficient for this type of strabismus.
Closure Treatment: This treatment method is applied if the patient has laziness in his eyes.
Orthoptic Treatment: This treatment consists of exercises applied to the eye in order to gain the ability to see with both eyes and the sense of depth.
Surgical Intervention: Strabismus surgeries are performed on the muscles located outside the eyeball. In order to correct strabismus and provide parallelism between the eyes, the strength of these muscles is increased, decreased or the points of action of the muscles are changed by using various techniques.
Congenital glides are glides that generally do not require glasses and need to be operated in the early period (6 months – 1 year). The majority of eye shifts occur around the age of 2-3 years and can usually be completely corrected with glasses. Surgical treatment is required for slips that do not improve even though glasses are worn. Strabismus surgeries are performed under general anesthesia.
Botox Treatment: When botulinum toxin is injected into the muscle causing the slippage, parallelism is achieved in the eye, its effect lasts for about 6 months and is a preferred treatment method in special cases such as strabismus due to nerve palsy. The general tendency in this type of strabismus is to wait 6-8 months, but botox can be applied in order to reduce double vision during the waiting period.
With early diagnosis and treatment in strabismus, lazy eye can be prevented and 3D vision can be achieved. For this reason, every child with suspected strabismus should be taken to a strabismus specialist ophthalmologist before they reach a certain age.
