Strabismus is a disease caused by the malfunctioning of the muscles in the eye. Disorders of these muscles lead to an asymmetrical position of the eyeball. Normally, two eyes concentrate on one point, transmitting two similar images to the brain . The brain, in turn, superimposes one picture on another and a three-dimensional image is obtained, which the human consciousness sees. It is very easy to verify this. You can look at an object, in turn, covering one eye. As a result, you can notice how the position of the object changes, and the picture changes accordingly. And if you look with two eyes, you get a clear and understandable image. 

The eyes move through the collective work of six muscles that each eye has. The brain exercises control over all the eye muscles in order to direct vision in one direction and concentrate it on an object. For the correct superimposition of one picture on another, a coordinated action of all twelve eye muscles is required. Accordingly, strabismus is an incoherent work of the eye muscles, the inability of the brain to exercise control over them.

Childhood strabismus should definitely be identified in the early stages, as children easily get used to such vision. When a child’s strabismus is formed, the brain perceives two pictures separately, and not superimposed on one another. In the eyes of a child suffering from strabismus, he begins to double. To cope with this problem, the brain quickly depresses one picture and works with the rest. In a very short time, the brain forms a very serious violation of visual function, inhibiting the work of the squinting eye. In addition, with childhood strabismus, there may be a habit of tilting the head in order to replenish the work of the squinting eye and eliminate double vision. If strabismus was acquired with age, then double vision is always present, since the addiction to visual abnormalities in the adult brain has limitations. 

Strabismus can be caused by various causes. It can be of congenital origin, or it can be acquired due to trauma, inflammatory disease, or eye surgery.

Strabismus symptoms

Children do not complain of double vision with strabismus, this is the prerogative of adults. If you suspect a strabismus in a child, it is required to perform test studies of visual function for the timely determination of the disease. The sooner the problem is detected, the more effective the treatment will be. Most often, strabismus is characterized by:

– bevelling the eye towards the ear or nose;

– turning the head in the process of looking ;

– squinting eyes;

– sometimes double vision.

Correction of strabismus

The choice of a method for correcting strabismus is based on various factors, which include the patient’s age, the cause of the disease, the direction and degree of strabismus. Methods for correcting strabismus consist of gluing, special glasses, physiotherapy procedures and a surgical method.

Sticking is an obstacle to the vision of a healthy eye for a long time, when the brain is forced to work with the diseased eye. The vision of this eye is normalized due to the habituation of the work of the brain with it. The effectiveness of this method for correcting strabismus is due to the timeliness of its application.

Surgery is used to correct strabismus in both children and adults. Performed using local and general anesthesia. The determination of the surgical technique is based on the severity of the problem.