Strabismus is an eye disorder very common among young children but can appear in adults as well. Although about half of childhood strabismus cases are congenital (present at birth), the rest -- along with adult onset -- may be caused by injuries or underlying disorders. If caught early, it can often be treated with noninvasive measures. If allowed to continue without diagnosis and treatment, however, more serious complications may arise.
What is Strabismus?
Strabismus is a disorder in which the eyes cannot move and focus simultaneously. There are six intraocular muscles that are responsible for moving the eyeballs up, down, side to side, or at an angle. These muscles, the ocular nerves, or the visual center of the brain can all be responsible for the occurrence of strabismus.
Strabismus may occur constantly (constant strabismus) or only occasionally (intermittent strabismus). Both eyes may have focusing problems (alternating strabismus) or only one eye may experience difficulty (unilateral). Furthermore, the direction that the eye tends to look will also determine the type of strabismus present. Hypertropia (upward) and hypotropia (downward) refer to a vertical offset, while exotropia (out towards the temple) and esotropia (in towards the nose) refer to a horizontal offset. The precise type of strabismus diagnosed can affect how serious the disorder is, largely because they may be more or less likely to be treated by non-surgical intervention.
What are the Consequences of Strabismus?
With two different focal points, one for each eye, the brain is getting two different pictures -- or at best, two different angles of the same picture. This can cause eye strain and headaches, blurry or double vision, and difficulty with depth perception (how far away something is). Hyperopia (farsightedness) and strabismus are often intermingled, perhaps because the eyes must work so much harder to see well. Additionally, the eyes are rarely exactly the same amount of farsightedness. Eventually, instead of continuing to work through two sets of visual stimuli, the brain will adapt to strabismus by ignoring the weaker of the two eyes.
Strabismus does not get better with age -- although it might seem like continuing to try to use the affected might make things better by “strengthening” that eye, this is not so. The ignored eye simply stops working at all, much like what happens if you don’t exercise -- you lose muscle mass. But while you can force your muscles to work, you can’t force your brain to pick up the picture from the eye it has decided to ignore.
What are the Complications of Strabismus?
As a result of untreated strabismus, other conditions may develop. Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is one of the more common complications. Generally, it develops in early childhood, which means prompt treatment for strabismus is essential. Amblyopia is a state of poor vision in one eye, generally because something was amiss with visual development. Luckily, this too can often be corrected with non-surgical methods.
If left too long, either condition can actually cause permanent vision loss. So, essentially strabismus can be serious, but it doesn’t have to be serious, as long as you take steps as soon as possible to provide treatment to stave off further complications.
