Strabismus is a condition in which the parallelism of the eyes is impaired. It may be congenital or may occur at older ages. In this article, I will briefly touch upon the strabismus we encounter during childhood.
Pronounced strabismus that occurs in the first 6 months of life is called congenital strabismus. Misalignment can sometimes be difficult to detect in newborn babies; because the eyes usually do not maintain their parallelism during the neonatal period. There may be short-term shifts in or out. This is because the development of babies' eyes is not yet complete at birth. They cannot see like an adult, they can see light, they can feel the image and boundaries of a shape. As a result, slight deviations may occasionally be observed in the eyes of babies up to 3 months of age. Around 4-6 months, vision approaches normal levels and the sensation of color occurs. If deviations in the eyes occur after this 3-4 month period, this situation should be evaluated by an ophthalmologist.
Congenital strabismus is generally the result of incompatibility in the muscles and nerves.
Another important point in congenital strabismus is In addition to incompatibility in muscles and nerves, some conditions can also cause strabismus: Congenital cataracts, some congenital eye disorders, tumors and infections can also cause strabismus. It is very important to examine the back of the eye in babies with strabismus in order to distinguish these diseases and to get the chance of treatment in the early period.
After the sixth month, sometimes after a fall, sometimes during a feverish illness, and sometimes without any reason, children's eyesight is very important. slipping may occur.
Some children get very uncomfortable in the sun and close one eye as their slipping increases, while some children hold their heads in different positions to see better and to suppress the discomfort they feel from slipping.
Eye misalignment may not always occur; misalignment may occur when the child looks too intently at a close object or is distracted. Sometimes it can be understood from the photographs taken that there is a slip. In these cases, parents should be very careful observers and should consult an ophthalmologist as soon as they are suspicious, taking their children and the suspicious photographs with them.
In the sixth month. The problem in strabismus that persists until childhood is mostly refractive error such as high hypermetropia in the eyes.
Here, it would be useful to talk about lazy eye in children. Vision is a system in which very complex mechanisms play a role together, and it is acquired by learning from birth until the age of 6. A newborn baby can hear as much as an adult, but cannot see like an adult. If there is a problem such as congenital cataract, high refractive error (hypermetropia, myopia, astigmatism), refractive media disorders, strabismus that prevents vision, and especially if it is in one eye, that eye will not be able to learn to see and will remain lazy. Early treatment reduces amblyopia and can eliminate it, depending on when it is detected and treated. For this reason, parents have to be very alert about their children's eye problems in the first 6 years of age.
Due to the wide nasal roots of babies, sometimes babies may appear to have inward eyes without strabismus. This condition is called pseudostrabismus and one or two After a year, when the root of the nose narrows, the appearance of strabismus disappears.
As a result, if you suspect that your child has strabismus, you should consult an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.
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