Congenital strabismus is usually the result of incompatibilities in muscles and nerves and should be treated with surgery at an early stage. The most important mistake made in this type of patients is; Postponing the surgery means waiting for the surgery until the child is of school age. However, it is more appropriate to perform the surgery when the child is one year old in order to develop binocular vision, that is, the sense of depth.
Another important point about congenital strabismus is that some conditions other than incompatibility in muscles and nerves can also cause strabismus: Congenital cataracts, some congenital eye disorders, tumors and infections can also cause strabismus. It is very important to examine the back of the eye in babies with strabismus in order to distinguish these diseases and to get the chance of treatment in the early period.
After the sixth month, eye misalignment may occur in children, sometimes after a fall, sometimes during a feverish illness, and sometimes without any reason.
Some children become very uncomfortable in the sun and close one eye because their slipping increases, while some children hold their heads in different positions to see better and to suppress the discomfort they feel from slipping.
Eye misalignment may not always occur; misalignment may occur when the child looks too intently at a close object or is distracted. Sometimes it can be understood from the photographs taken that there is a slip. In these cases, parents should be very careful observers and should consult an ophthalmologist as soon as they suspect their child, taking the suspicious photographs with them.
In strabismus from the sixth month to childhood, the problem is mostly refractive error such as high hyperopia in the eyes. In some children, strabismus improves when the refractive error is corrected with glasses. In some children, glasses correct some of the strabismus, and in others they do not. In these cases, the amount of strabismus that does not improve must be corrected by surgery.
Here, it would be useful to talk about lazy eye in children. Vision is a system in which very complex mechanisms play a role together, and it is acquired by learning from birth until the age of 6. A newborn baby can hear as much as an adult, but cannot see like an adult. If he has a problem such as congenital cataract, high refractive error (hypermetropia, myopia, astigmatism), refractive media disorders, strabismus that will prevent him from seeing, and especially if it is in one eye, that eye will not be able to learn to see and will remain lazy. Early treatment reduces amblyopia and can eliminate it, depending on when it is detected and treated. For this reason, parents have to be very alert about eye problems in their children's first 6 years of age.
The possibility of surgery in children with strabismus frightens the family, whereas surgery is the only solution for congenital strabismus and strabismus that cannot be corrected with glasses, and the sooner it is treated, the better the child's vision will be preserved.
Due to the wide nasal roots of babies, sometimes babies may appear to have their eyes turned inward, even without strabismus. This condition is called pseudostrabismus, and when the nasal root narrows after a year or two, the appearance of strabismus disappears.
As a result, if you suspect that your child has strabismus, you should consult an ophthalmologist as soon as possible. Your doctor will examine your child's vision, measure whether there is any deviation and its degree, determine the refractive error by administering medication, and if he detects lazy eyes, he will begin treatment for this.