What is Squint?

A squint, also called strabismus, is where the eyes point in different directions. It's particularly common in young children, but can happen at any age.

One of the eyes may turn in, out, up or down while the other eye looks ahead. This may happen all the time or it may come and go. Treatment is usually recommended to correct a squint, as it's unlikely to get better on its own and it could cause further problems if not treated early on.

About Squint Surgery

How squint affect vision?

At birth a baby's vision is very immature, with an acuity of around 3/60. During the critical periods of visual development, visual acuity develops as do other modalities such as contrast sensitivity, colour, pattern and motion perception, and binocular function with stereopsis. Disturbance to normal visual development will affect the maturation of these different visual functions, with associated structural changes in the visual pathways and cortex, resulting in amblyopia—i.e. reduced acuity in one or sometimes both eyes without any ocular lesion. Either these children lose binocular function as a result of a squint or they acquire a squint because of poor development of binocular function. The commonest causes for amblyopia are a squint (strabismic amblyopia) or blurring of the image in one eye due to unequal refractive power in the two eyes (anisometropic amblyopia). Squint and amblyopia are common conditions: about one in fifty children have a squint, and up to 5% of the population have an amblyopic or lazy eye. In view of their lifelong impact on visual function and physical appearance, with consequences for education, jobs and psychological wellbeing, good management offers substantial long-term benefits.

When to get medical advice?

Consult your doctor if -

your child has a squint all the time

your child is older than 3 months and has a squint that comes and goes – in babies younger than this, squints that come and go are common and are not usually a cause for concern

you have any concerns about your child's vision – signs of a problem can include regularly turning their head to one side or keeping one eye closed when looking at things

you develop a squint or double vision later in life

What are the types of squint?

The following terms describe strabismus by the positions of the eye:

Hypertropia: when the eye turns upwards

Hypotropia: when the eye turns downwards

Esotropia: when the eye turns inwards (towards the nose)

Exotropia: when the eye turns outwards (towards the ear)

Signs & Symptoms

Light sensitivity.

Blurred vision.

Dark, floating black spots in your field of vision (floaters).

Decreased vision.

Cloudy or foggy vision

FAQ

1. What symptoms do children with poor vision present with? When should children get their eyes checked?

A child with poor vision may manifest in the following ways:

Sits too close to the TV
Squinting or crossing of eyes
Adopting an unusual position of head or face (looking through the sides)
Itching or rubbing of the eyes
Redness in the eyes
Sensitivity to light

Any of the above symptoms or complaints from your child should not be neglected. Some eye conditions and diseases are hereditary and can affect your child as well. Consult your child’s doctor or an ophthalmologist at the earliest for early detection and treatment of eye disorders.

2- How is a squint diagnosed?

A squint can be diagnosed through a comprehensive eye examination performed by a squint specialist. The examination may include tests to evaluate eye movements, visual acuity, and binocular vision. In some cases, additional tests such as imaging or orthoptic evaluation may be recommended to determine the underlying cause of the squint.

3- What are the treatment options available for a squint?

The treatment for a squint depends on its underlying cause, severity, and the patient’s age. Non-surgical options may include prescription eyeglasses, eye exercises, or the use of prisms. In other cases, surgical intervention may be necessary to adjust the position of the eye muscles and align the eyes properly.

4- What is the right age to plan squint surgery?

If your child is having squint which requires surgery, earlier the better. Getting squint surgery done within 6 years of age can lead to complete vision development including binocular vision and is often recommended. Discuss with our pediatric squint specialists to know exact timeline of your child’s squint surgery.

5- Do children need glasses?

If children are not able to see small letters clearly or have a significant glass power or squint, then they MUST wear glasses for all their daily activities.

5- What is lazy eye?

Lazy eye is when your eye is functionally not improving with glass power but anatomically eye looks normal.

Squint Eye Surgery & Specialist Treatment in Mumbai

How to diagnose squint?

Children and babies should have routine eye checks as they develop. The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) recommends

starting eye tests at 6 months of age, or earlier if the child has a constant eye turn. The eye doctor will probably use eye drops that dilate the pupils before testing is done.

The Hirschberg corneal reflex test, is one of many tests used to assess whether the patient has strabismus. The eye doctor shines a light in the eye and observes where the light reflects from the corneas.

If the eyes are well-aligned, the light will go to the center of both corneas. If it does not, the test can show whether the patient has exotropia, hypertropia, esotropia, or hypotropia.

What are the causes of squint?

Most often, one eye turns inwards (convergent squint) or outwards (divergent squint). Less often, it may turn up or down (vertical squint). There are different terms for how often the squint is present. If they are there at all times they are termed constant, or if they are only
apparent at certain times they are know as intermittent.
Some babies are born with a squint (known as a congenital or infantile squint) and some children develop a squint later (known as a acquired squint). Acquired squints may be caused by the eye attempting to overcome a vision problem, such as short sightedness or long sightedness and genetic factors play a part in many squints, but in many cases the cause is unknown. Rarely, a squint may be caused by a condition in the eye itself.

What are the treatment options for squint?

Most squints in children need to be assessed as soon as possible to ensure the vision is protected and to improve the chances of successful treatment. Treatments include glasses and, occasionally, eye exercises. If your child has a lazy eye, they may need to wear an eye patch to improve the vision in the affected eye. Many patients may only need the condition monitoring regularly. IN some cases, corrective surgery may be undertaken, most commonly to improve the appearance of the eyes, but sometimes to correct double vision or, in young children, to try

and develop the co-ordination of the two eyes to work together for 3-D (depth) vision. Occasionally, surgery is done to improve an abnormal position of the head. Squint surgery is a very common eye operation. It usually involves tightening or moving one or more of the outside eye muscles which move the eye to change the eye position. These muscles are attached quite close to the front of the eye under the conjunctiva, the clear surface layer. Stitches are used to attach the muscles in their new positions. Squint surgery is nearly always a day-care procedure, so you should be in and out of hospital on the same day. There are two kinds of squint operation – adjustable and non-adjustable. In adjustable surgery, which can be performed in older children and adults, the stitches can be adjusted shortly after the surgery, when the patient is awake. Risks from surgery are rare, but there can be unpredictability in the exact position of the eyes after surgery and sometimes more than one operation will be needed. Occasionally, squints corrected during childhood reappear in adulthood. You should visit your ophthalmologist as soon as possible if you develop a new squint. Botulinum toxin for squint treatment – Botulinum toxin causes a temporary, partial or complete, paralysis(weakness) of the muscle into which it has been injected. To begin with, you may notice a temporary reversal of your squint, followed by gradual straightening of the eyes as the paralysis wears off.

Testimonials from our patients

We understand that clear and enhanced vision is a precious gift that transforms lives. With each individual and family, we’ve had the privilege to serve, our commitment to exceptional eye care has yielded more than just healthier eyes! We proudly share the heartfelt experiences of our patients, who have entrusted us with the chance to serve them, enhancing their life experiences.

Pradeep Parmar

It's was good experience, The facilities they provides and the technology they used for check up are of high quality. Beautiful experience.. Visited the hospital for the first time and I'm highly satisfied and happy with the overall experience.. They take care of you completely and also follow all the necessary precautions of Covid 19... Keep up the good work.

Mrunali Tikle

The staff is very polite and clearly explains everything. The Senior Dr.Bhushan Ghodke is very patient and gives enough time on explaining things technically to their patients. It was a nice experience being here and the best part was, it was free eye checkup camp but there was no compromises done with the quality pr service. Highly recommended it.

Chandani Gupta

My grandfather's Right eye cataract surgery was done at Iksha Eye Care by Dr. Bhushan Ghodke.. We all are really really happy and satisfied with the overall treatment and assistance given to us. Staff is doing a fantastic job. Thank you so much for the right guidance and help. Highly recommended...

Ayushi Shah

I had an emergency visit and the receptionist Chaitali calmed me down immediately, took me to Dr. Pooja who quickly checked the damage to my eye, gave me appropriate eye drops and put a bandaid on me, within 15 mins of it all! Super quick & tender care.

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My eyes got infected due to a toxic reaction caused by some chemicals. Iksha eye care, and Doctor Pooja and her team were a relief to visit. The clinic is very hospitable, and within a week I got perfectly fine. The treatment suited me well, it is a must recommend place for any eye issues you may have. Also, very affordable.

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Dr. Bhushan Ghodke treated the cataract in both my eyes and the entire procedure, from the first visit to the last check-up was absolutely amazing. The doctor and the staff are extremely kind and helped explain the procedure clearly. The overall treatment and experience was great - I would surely recommend Iksha Eye Care!

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