Symptoms

Among the complaints of a cross-eyed person are slight fatigue, as seeing is strenuous, headaches and double vision can occur. Sometimes the patient’s vision is blurred. If paralysis strabismus is present, for example if a nerve is damaged that normally supplies a muscle in the eye, the patients complain of nausea and dizziness.

Patients often try to compensate for the defective position of the eye by tilting the head. Consequence of strabismusIf strabismus is not treated in time, weakness of vision (amblyopia) develops. This is the most common and most serious complication of strabismus in children.

The danger of weak-sightedness is always present when the child who squints prefers to use one eye for fixation (i.e. to see). The other eye does not usually fixate spontaneously. In the case of strabismus in which both eyes are used alternately for vision, so to speak, and there is no preferred eye, weakness of vision does not develop.

It is therefore necessary to make sure that both eyes are used equally and equally often in children with strabismus. This can be achieved by alternately sticking a plaster over one eye. The most important goal of strabismus therapy is to prevent or correct weakness of the eye, not to treat strabismus.

Diagnosis

If strabismus is suspected, the corneal reflexes of both eyes can be compared for orientation. They should normally be symmetrical. You let the patient fixate a light source and thus create a light reflex on the corneal surface.

If the light reflex does not appear on the same spot, strabismus is present. In addition, both reveal and concealment tests are suitable for diagnosis. Masking testOne of the eyes of a person with strabismus is always considered the leading or fixing eye.

This eye is first covered. One expects an adjustment movement of the strabismus eye. If the strabismus is covered, there is no adjustment movement, since this eye is already fixating.

If only one eye is adjusted, this is called unilateral strabismus. Bilateral strabismus is also possible. If the adjustment movement is performed from the outside, external strabismus is present.

If the eye is adjusted from the inside to the outside, this is called internal strabismus. Detection testNot only covering one eye can provide information about strabismus. Also the revelation can be interpreted. If the leading eye had been covered, it will make a jerky compensatory movement to fix it in place when it is uncovered. If there is no strabismus, the eye will not move even after uncovering.