Squint is a condition in which the eyes are misaligned so that both eyes are not looking in the same direction. Squint is the common eye problem in children accounting for 30% of our patients, through population-based surveys demonstrate a wide range of prevalence of squint varying from 0.2% to 40%.
Is it of any concern or just a cosmetic issue?
Yes along with the cosmetic concern, there are few visual effects with a squint
- Loss of 3 D vision / binocularity: (stereopsis, depth perception)
When a child is left with squint without treatment ultimately the child will lose his 3D vision that means a child will not be able to perceive depth which will have implications in jobs that requires accurate awareness of depth and distance like driving, sports, aviation, etc and any skills that involve hand-eye coordination.
-Try to thread a needle with one closed and you will know the advantage of 3D vision/binocularity.
-Lazy eye: so again long-standing squint in kids will cause permanent decreased vision in the squinting eye which will not improve after a certain age even with treatment. Such a condition is called a lazy eye. So not treated on time squint eye will become lazy eye.
-Psychosocial effect of squint and emotional consequences like poor self-image, negative social bias, increase social anxiety, poor communication skills, and poor job opportunities in adults.
Causes: the exact cause of the squint is not always known.
In children often it is caused in an attempt to overcome vision issues like refractive errors (long-sightedness or short-sightedness).
It is also often seen due to eye muscle weakness which can be corrected by surgery.
Rarely hereditary and other neurological issues and infections can also cause squint.
Indirectly increased digital screen time in children is one factor for the increasing prevalence of squint in them as it definitely has an impact on refractive errors.
Detecting squint:
- Squint can be barely detectable in some people, but most of the time the misalignment of eyes is obvious and can be seen early.
- Squint can be present all the time or only intermittently. Constant squint needs immediate evaluation and treatment. sometimes kids with constant squint will adopt an abnormal head posture. “so any child with abnormal head posture can have a squint.
How can a child benefit from treatment
- Restoration of 3 D vision
- Normal appearance
Treating squint:
So once in doubt, don’t hesitate to get an eye checkup done with a Pediatric ophthalmologist.
Once detected and confirmed if a child has a squint then can be corrected with the help of glasses, exercise, or surgery depending on the type of squint.
Few squints can be corrected only with glasses.
Regarding surgery- it is an extraocular surgery that means it doesn’t involve the visual axis and tackles with muscles that help in eyeball movement. So generally no vision-threatening complications are seen following squint surgery and have a good post-operative recovery.
Squint eyes are no more a sign of good luck.
Please don’t hesitate or postpone your child’s squint treatment.
Treatment improves your child’s overall well-being.
How common it is...
Also Read:- Headphones, earbuds may affect hearing in children
When to suspect: any kind of abnormal deviation of eyes or misalignment of eyes or lack of coordination in eye movements, abnormal head posture especially while watching Tv or reading books should warn us to rule out squint and calls for an immediate check-up.
Rarely squint can be a sign of underlying serious neurological problems or life-threatening eye cancer.
So please don’t take a chance, make an appointment with your eye doctor.
