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What We Treat > ChildrenWhat is strabismus?Strabismus is a medical term for any misalignment of the eyes. How many people are affected by strabismus? It is estimated that 4% of the United States population has strabismus. Are there different types of strabismus and if so, how are they named? Yes, there are different types of strabismus. Strabismus is most commonly described by the direction of the eye misalignment: esotropia, exotropia, hypotropia, and hypertropia, (described later). Strabismus can be described by its cause. The 3 cranial nerves (III, IV, VI) responsible for eye movement can be weak or palsied and cause strabismus (third nerve palsy, superior oblique palsy). Special patterns of strabismus can have unique names including Brown syndrome, Duane syndrome, and canine-tooth syndrome. What is esotropia? Esotropia is the inward turning of one or both eyes. A commonly used term for esotropia is "cross-eyed." (infantile esotropia, accommodative esotropia) What is exotropia? Exotropia is the outward turning of one or both eyes. A commonly used term for exotropia is "wall-eyed." What is hypertropia? Hypertropia is one eye higher than the other. What is hypotropia? Hypotropia is one eye lower than the other. What causes strabismus? Most strabismus is caused by an abnormality of the poorly understood neuromuscular (including brain) control of the eye movements. Less commonly, a problem with the eye muscles themselves causes strabismus. How is strabismus related to amblyopia? Eye misalignment can cause amblyopia in children. When the eyes are looking in different directions, the brain receives 2 different visual images. The brain ignores the image from the misaligned eye to avoid double vision, resulting in poor vision development. Can poor vision cause strabismus? Yes. An eye that sees poorly tends to wander. Who develops strabismus as a child? Any child can have strabismus. However, disorders that affect the brain such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, hydrocephalus and brain tumor are associated with an increased incidence of strabismus. What adult disorders cause strabismus? Stroke is the leading cause of strabismus in adults. Trauma, brain tumors and Graves disease (thyroid eye disorders) are other common causes of strabismus. How does trauma cause strabismus? Trauma can cause strabismus by:
How is strabismus treated? The goal of strabismus treatment is to straighten the eyes and allow the eyes to be used together (binocular vision). Treatment may involve eye glasses (glasses for children), eye exercises and/ or eye muscle surgery (strabismus surgery). Other problems present along with the strabismus (including amblyopia, cataract) are usually treated prior to eye muscle surgery. Source: www.aapos.org/ |
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