TREATMENT

The aims of treatment of squint in order of importance are:

Preserve or restore vision
Straighten the eyes
Restore binocular vision

Your child’s physician will determine specific treatment for strabismus based on:

• Your child’s age, overall health, and medical history
• The extent of the disease
• The cause of the disease
• Your child’s tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
• Expectations for the course of the disease
• Your opinion or preference

Your child may be referred to an ophthalmologist for treatment of this problem. Treatment may include one or more of the following:

• Eye drops
• Eye exercises
• Eye patch over the strong eye (if amblyopia is present) to improve the weak eye
• Glasses
• Surgery to straighten the eyes

Strabismus cannot be outgrown, but early treatment can prevent visual impairment.

Are glasses necessary:

Yes, Surgery cannot replace the need for glasses. If the child has significant refractive error, glasses are a must. In some cases wearing glasses may correct squint. In other cases, wearing glasses help the eyes to see clearly. This clear vision is very important for the treatment of amblyopia, and also for maintaining the coordination of eyes, once they have been aligned by surgery.