Squint is also called as ‘crossed eyes’ or more technically, strabismus. A “squint” or “strabismus” occurs when the two eyes are misaligned. In this disorder, the eyes don’t look in exactly the same direction at the same time.

It’s normal for a newborn’s eyes to wander or cross occasionally during the first few months of life. But by the time a baby is 4 to 6 months old, the eyes usually straighten out. If one or both eyes continue to wander in, out, up, or down — even once in a while — it’s probably due to strabismus.

Squint usually occurs because the muscles that control the movement of the eye and the eyelid, the extraocular muscles, are not working together. Causes can include nerve injury or dysfunction of the muscles controlling the eye. This can happen in either eye and the misalignment can be in any direction.

Most adults with squints have had the condition since childhood. However, strabismus can also begin in adulthood due to medical problems, such as diabetes, thyroid disease, myasthenia gravis, brain tumours, head trauma and strokes.

Occasionally, misalignment of the eyes can also occur after surgery on or around the eye, such as cataract surgery or retinal surgery. This is due to damage to the eye muscles during surgery.

An eye that turns inwards is called an esotropia.

An eye that turns outwards is called an exotropia.

An eye that turns upwards is called a hypertropia.

An eye that turns downwards is called a hypotropia.

Symptoms include misalignment itself (crossing, drifting, etc.of eyes), sometimes rubbing of one or both eyes, and a compensatory head posture.

There may be no symptoms whatsoever, especially in cases of long standing strabismus. Symptoms can also include double vision (diplopia, or two images seen for one object) or “split” vision (like seeing 1+1/2 images), unstable images, eyestrain or fatigue, headache and an awareness that an eye is moving about.

To correct the inability to focus properly, many adults with squints have to tilt or turn their heads when focusing. They are also unable to make direct eye contact with both eyes when looking at people, which can make social situations awkward.These symptoms may have a negative impact on employment and social opportunities.

Squint in children can usually be corrected with early treatment. Several treatment options exist to align the eyes. Often, more than one treatment or a combination of treatments may be needed to get the best result for your child’s vision. Some of the most common ways that squint can be treated include: bi-focal glasses, glasses with prisms , occlusion therapy (patch) and contact lenses. Eye muscle exercises and eye muscle surgeries can be used if other methods do not deliver the necessary results.

Typically, squints occur when the muscles surrounding the eyes are either too stiff or too weak. Eye doctors surgically loosen, tighten or reposition selected eye muscles so that the eyes can be rebalanced to work together.

Squint surgery is usually performed using general or local anesthesia. Patients may experience some pain or discomfort after surgery, but it is usually not severe and can be treated with over-the-counter pain medication such as paracetamol. Stronger medications for pain are sometimes needed .More than one surgery may be needed to treat this condition depending on the severity of the case.

• Reduces or eliminates double vision.
• Improves or restores the use of both eyes together (binocular visual function).
• Reduces eye fatigue.
• Expands peripheral (side) vision.
• Improves social and professional opportunities.