Strabismus in children - why it occurs and how is it treated?

Sometimes problems with the eyes that arise in the child, it is difficult to diagnose without the direct involvement of a specialist. But there are exceptions, for example, strabismus. It is noticeable even if you do not understand the diagnosis. But it is not enough to recognize the problem, it is also necessary to understand why it arises and how it can be coped with.

What it is

Strabismus, which is also known as strabismus or heterotrophism, is a pathology that can be recognized by the asymmetry of one or two eyes relative to the central axis.A person who suffers from this, can not sufficiently well focus his view on any one particular subject.

Most often this disease is common in children 2-3 years, because it is at this age that friendly eye work begins to form. Less often the problem occurs in infants, but, as a rule, passes quickly enough, being only a temporary phenomenon.

Many believe that strabismus is only a cosmetic defect, but in fact it is a rather dangerous pathology.If you do not correct the problem for up to seven years, then the child's vision later on may significantly deteriorate.

Causes

If strabismus is present in infants and newborns, then it arises because the optic nerve is so weak that the baby can not fully control its vision.Do not worry about this, after a while the problem will pass, as if it was not there.

Strabismus is considered the norm if it is present in the child for not more than a year, but usually it does by six months.

Much worse, if the problem has not passed after a year.But it is really necessary to worry when a child reaches the age of two. Then the problem requires correction.At this age, the key, but not the only reasons that cause this deviation are:

• barley on the eye;
• conjunctivitis;
• cataract;
• farsightedness;
• myopia;
• genetic predisposition;
• scarlet fever;
• excessive eye load;
• craniocerebral trauma;
• psychological trauma;
• damage to the eyes;
• neurological diseases;
• poisoning;
• birth trauma;
• fetal hypoxia;
• rheumatoid juvenile arthritis and other problems.

The causes of strabismus can be a lot, because before you start correction, you first need to establish the root cause, and then already deal with the immediate correction of defects.

Symptoms

With strabismus, the main symptom is the deviation of one or two eyes from the central axis.Eyes begin to mow, there is a characteristic asymmetry.And although it is necessary to consult a doctor to diagnose the cause, it is easy to see the symptoms of this problem.

The only difficulty that can arise is that the problem is sometimes imaginary. It seems that there is a squint, but in reality it is not available. This happens most often in newborns, whose eyes are close and the bridge of the nose is wide. Gradually, the facial skeleton is formed, the nose bridge proportionally decreases, and the distance between the eyes increases.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of this disease is carried out in several stages.First, the mother needs to visit the doctor and tell in detail about how the pregnancy went, as there were births when there was a squint, which eyes mow, whether this phenomenon is permanent.It is necessary to provide as much detail as possible about all the problems, infections and injuries that have happened it is very important that an ophthalmologist can objectively assess the situation and take an optimal decision.

Treatment

The first stage of any treatment is the initial elimination of the cause, which could cause strabismus.When the cause is eliminated, only then it will be possible to deal directly with the consequences of the problem.In total, there are two main approaches to treatment - conservative and surgical.

Surgical method is the most radical, it is used mainly with sufficiently strong lesions of the visual system and with certain types of strabismus, which are problematic to correct otherwise.In this case, surgery does not abolish the use of conservative techniques before and after surgery.

Conservative treatment in simple methods can consist in wearing specially selected glasses. It happens that this is enough to completely correct strabismus, if it is easy.But it is important not only to give the child to wear glasses, but also to motivate him to combine images from two eyes into a single image.For this, courses of medical activities are held.

They are held, as a rule, in a game form. Often used the so-called occlusion method, when a healthy eye for some specific time is closed by a bandage, so that the child is more accustomed to "own" his weak eye.

Also, special devices are used, classes on which are conducted in outpatient settings. They allow to increase the functional state of the visual portion of the cerebral cortex.If you combine the most effective methods for a child, then a good enough prediction is that after a certain time the situation will return to normal and the strabismus will recede.

Glasses for correcting strabismus

Complications

If up to seven years can not cope with this problem, it turns into a very dangerous eye disease. The eye that mows begins to see worse, its development slows down.A healthy eye also increases the load, so the child's vision falls. Then it will be very difficult to do anything about this problem.

Prevention

Some measures taken at a young age of the child may reduce the likelihood that he will have a strabismus.For example, do not hang a newborn toy too low over his crib, this is a common cause of the problem.It is recommended to visit an ophthalmologist with prophylactic purposes already in the first year of life of the child. It is preferable to conduct the first examination early enough, right after delivery.

Unlike other specialists, ophthalmologists do not inspect babies after delivery in bulk, therefore it is necessary to take care of the decision of this task personally. This is especially important for children who are conditionally at risk, for example, are premature, have a negative heredity in the eyes and so on.

The next preventive examination is done in two months, then in six months, then in a year.In addition to determining strabismus, the doctor can identify many other abnormalities that may require both conservative therapy and surgical treatment.

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Treatment of hypermetropia: is it possible to fully restore vision for this disease.

Treatment of high degree myopia: http://eyesdocs.ru/zabolevaniya/miopiya/vysokoj-stepeni-chto-eto-takoe.html

The more dangerous the purulent conjunctivitis in children read in this article.

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conclusions

Strabismus is a rather harmful phenomenon, which can cause serious problems. But this is not the reason for panic. At a very young age it is generally absolutely normal, and at later stages the problem can be eliminated if it is noticed and taken in time. The main thing is to contact the ophthalmologist in time, and he will help you to restore the eyesight and health of your kid's eyes.