What are the common symptoms of baby strabismus and how to correct it

Does your child tilt his head or squint when looking at things? If so, he may have strabismus. Your baby's eyes will easily cross in the first few months, and they will return to normal around 4 to 6 months. If your baby's eyes continue to be confused after 6 months, he may have strabismus and need treatment.

Causes of strabismus in babies

Strabismus is a condition in which one or both of an infant's eyes become misaligned or misaligned. The misalignment may be inward, outward, upward, or downward and usually persists throughout childhood.

According to research, the condition may be hereditary, and some studies have suggested that strabismus may also develop as a compensation for other vision problems, such as cataracts or farsightedness.

Some babies are at greater risk of developing strabismus, such as those with Down syndrome, or those who have had a head injury, muscle damage, nerve damage, or were born prematurely.

Common signs of strabismus include double vision, general vision problems, squinting, and tilting the head to see more clearly. Young children often don't notice eye problems themselves, so parents and teachers need to be aware of them.

How to treat baby's strabismus

Patching: Children with lazy or strabismus are often patched to treat the eye problem. This can help strengthen the weaker eye and adjust for proper alignment, which is helpful in the long run.

Atropine eye drops: If your child cannot wear an eye patch, consider using atropine eye drops instead. These drops temporarily blur the good eye, forcing the misaligned eye to work harder.

Eye muscle surgery: If wearing an eye patch and eye drops are not enough to achieve proper adjustment, eye muscle surgery may also be considered. This surgery can help relax or tighten the muscles to reduce eye confusion.

Common symptoms of strabismus in babies

Poor sense of space: Children with strabismus usually have a poor sense of space and find it difficult to accurately judge the distance and position of objects. Sometimes they also experience symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, and insomnia.

Easy to get eyes tired: If a child with strabismus looks for a long time, he or she may easily experience sore eyes, headache, and photophobia. This is because the fatigue is caused by the continuous use of the eye muscles.

It is clearer to read with one eye: Children with strabismus may easily feel that the handwriting is blurred or overlapped when reading, which causes visual confusion. Therefore, it is clearer and less effort if they read with one eye.