Strabismus, or crossed eyes, is the inability to point both eyes in the same direction at the same time. One eye may appear to turn in (esotropia), out (exotropia), up (hypertropia), or down (hypotropia). The eye turn may occur constantly or only intermittently. Eye-turning may change from one eye to the other, and may only appear when a person is tired or has done a lot of reading. Strabismus may cause double vision. To avoid seeing double, vision in one eye may be ignored resulting in a lazy eye (amblyopia).
Crossed eyes most often develop in infants and young children, although it can occur in adults. This may also be caused by:
- Inadequate development of eye coordination in childhood
- Excessive farsightedness (hyperopia) or differences between the vision in each eye
- Problems with the eye muscles that control eye movement
- Head trauma, stroke, or other general health problems
In most cases the problem does not improve as the child grows. Treatment varies depending on the cause of the eye-turning, and may include:
- Eyeglasses
- Vision Therapy
- Eye muscle surgery
While eye muscle surgery can sometimes straighten the eyes, a program of Vision Therapy is often necessary to restore full visual function.