Conditions
Squint
Squints are common in kids, affecting about one in 20 and usually developing in the first 3 years of life. A squint, also referred to as strabismus, is a condition where one of the eyes looks in a different direction when the other is looking forward. This is caused by an imbalance in the muscles of the eye. It is, however, quite easily corrected if found before a child is 8 years old and the eye has fully developed.
There are lots of reasons why kids get squints, some are born with them, some may be the result of an illness or developed from other sight problems. Normally it is quite easy to recognise a squint, but in minor cases it can be more difficult; look out for your child closing one eye to look at things or looking out of the side of their eye, this probably means they are experiencing double vision, a sign of a squint.
If a squint is suspected, your GP will refer your child to an ophthalmologist for further tests. Before the test is carried out, your child’s pupils will be dilated (expanded) using eye drops, which can be quite uncomfortable, but allows the ophthalmologist to see to the back of the eye. Often, the first step to curing a squint is prescribing glasses, and then if the condition persists, the good eye is patched to improve the sight in the weaker eye. Eye drops and exercises can often cure mild squints, however, in longer-lasting cases, surgery is needed to realign the eye muscles.
Lazy eye (amblyopia) can develop out of a squint being left untreated. The brain finds it difficult to process the different images seen by the eyes, so the lazy eye is ignored, which means gradually the vision in this eye will deteriorate. In this case, it is not possible to correct the damage after it has been done, which is why it is so important to look out for the signs and visit a GP straight away.
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My 3 year old son developed a squint when he was 8 months they say its genetic. he got an oporation last year 2 fix it but there is still a squint there so we were refaired back and so they now say he is long sighted and gave him glasses but every appoinment we have had we were allways told he had good vision in both his eyes and now its changed why is this
hi my 2 granchildren wear glasses one whos 5 and one whos 4 both have a squint witch dosent run in the family i have been told by the hospital they wont operate because glasses correct the squint there r both long sighted i would like them to have laser when oldenough but if they have a squit they will still have to wear glasses why wont they op they dont like wearing glasses and get quit upset when they go to school
I have an 5 nearly 6 year old daughter who has got a lazy eye and is longsighted. She goes to the hospital regularly for her eye. They tried patches and eye drops and now she wears spectacles. Why can surgery only happen before she is 8 years old and how come the hospital have not suggested this.
I sometimes get a lazy eye, and my eye starts twicthing, my mum thinks its nothing.. but im not sure, does anybody know what it is?
the twitching is probably due to tiredness, the lazy eye is probably not related to this but if you find it becomes too noticeable, go to the doctor and they should be able to help you.
I have a 16 months old daughter who has a squint in her right eye. We will be seeing a doctor soon.They have referred eye drops & will let us know about any exercises she needs.I just wanto to know for how long one prescribes the eye drops & excercises ? I am worried about surgery at too young an age , is there any guarantee that it will be successful ? What if it does not ?
My son Mike has a squint and he is 11yrs old. I thought that many children can get at a young age ; such as under but what my question is ... Is it ordinary or common for children over 10 to get a squint?
i am 24, i have squint i realy want to get it fix but i am little bit worry it may not be possible because of my age, i get upset when people pick on me, sometime i get it straightens i dont kwon if i gonna need an operation or just a glass but unfortunatly i don`t realy like to wear glass. can you advese me what to do to it fix please i need your help
I don't know how long you have had your squint, but if it's a new thing please go get it checked out. It really depends on how big your squint is as to what can be done. Some can be treated with exercises and others with glasses (or even contact lenses if you prefer). Surgery is usually a last resort if nothing else helps. There are loads of things that can be done (even if you aren't a child) but you need to get a referal to the hosiptal from your doctor/optician. Surely it's worth finding out what can help. If you don't like the suggstions you don't have to do it.
my son had squnit surgery last july and at first i regretted it as it is a painful procedure, but now nearly a year on i am so pleased he has had the correction done before he starts school in september. He saw the opthamologist today who took measurements that were near perfection, i was thrilled! Obviously there aer risks with any surgery, but I found that his Dad and I were more bothered about the op than he was! So perhaps having surgery at a young age is better, although this does depend on what type of squint the individual has (surgery may not be an option in some cases) Any body concered for themselves or thier children, just go and see your GP and get a referal and if you dont hear any thing chase it up.... time is an issue with squints, also they are normally hireditary so if it runs in the family and you have worries. Deffinately get checked out.
My 16 month old daughter has recently been diagnosed with a squint. We have been told that she could have an operation for cosmetic reasons at any age. Do we have it done at a young age whilst she wont remember it and before she starts to get picked on, or do we wait till she is old enough to decide for herself?
My little sister was diagnosed when she was about 2 years old, she was given glasses to wear and it has got much better. I think surgery is the last resort in many cases, as glasses and patching is used initially and is generally effective in most young children.
my brother suffered a squint at a young age and they tried patches and glasses and niether or them worked he then had an operation which then fixed it. the operation doesnt last long but will make your daughter alot happier in the future, and wont then get bullied or knock her confidence.
Hi Amy, I see your comment is a few months old now so perhaps you've already arranged treatment for your daughter. Our daughter had an operation in April, aged 8 months, for a fairly severe convergent squint. When we were deciding whether to go ahead, the main conflicting arguments seemed to be a) against surgery at too young an age in case the squint might be corrected by non-surgical means, versus b) correcting with surgery as young as possible to give the best chance of the child being able to learn to use both eyes together. I was certainly swayed by the second argument. It was stressful putting a baby through surgery. Although her eyes are now pretty straight, she has days where they diverge slightly and others when they're straight, and we don't yet know for sure whether she'll develop normal binocular vision. But, I am absolutely happy that we went ahead, for several reasons. 1) she is using both eyes at least some of the time, which she could not have done before - so she has a good chance of normal vision. 2) She looks cosmetically pretty much 'normal' - and though before the op we were quite used to her appearance, looking at early photos of her now is quite shocking, and without the op she would certainly have faced comments about her 'odd' eyes. 3) her personality changed quite dramatically after the operation: she was simply much happier and more active. I think this is partly because she had previously been picking up on our concern for her and our stress in the run-up to the operation. But I also firmly believe she suddenly found it much easier to use her eyes - it must have been quite hard work continually forcing herself to look straight, and always swapping from 1 eye to the other. If you do go for surgery, be assured that the eyes heal amazingly fast. The first few days the whites of the eyes will be quite red, but for us the worst thing after the op was wrestling to put antibiotic eye drops in (for the first week or two). Our daughter only seemed to need pain relief for a day and a half.
Thank you very much for all your comments, they have been very helpful.
Im 14 Years old now, and ive had a lazy eye/squint for as long as i can remember. When i was younger, i had eye drops and patching (which didnt seem to do anything to my bad eye) & glasses- which i still have to wear (although i often wear contact lenses now), but ive never known how it could be treated for good, i know surgery is an option, but ive never known how to go about getting it done or age restrictions etc? thanks. x
Hi, I guess the first person you need to see is your doctor who would then be able to refer you on. I have been told that you can have corrective surgery at any age but talk it through with your parents/guardians first.
my sons eye has been turning in every now and then especially when he's focusing on something. prob now 6 months ive contacted my health nurse and she's sent a referral but ive heard nothing. should i just pay for a private doctor to check him out. im worried now after reading this. if i say to him about his eye he straightens it straight away. he'll be three this summer. any advice?
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