All You Need To Know About Squint

Squint, more commonly known as the misalignment of the eyes to the layman, is one of the most common eye disorders seen across the globe. It affects the coordination between both the eyes, which is necessary for achieving clear binocular vision. There are six muscles in each eye that maintains such coordination, by having both our eyes looking at the same object together, making our eyes centered. But, in squint, one or more of these muscles don’t work as required, thus having both eyes looking in different directions. either both the eyes could be disoriented from the center, or one may look straight, while the other may look elsewhere.

Types of squint

Depending upon the direction of the eyeballs, there are different kinds of squints.

• Exotropia – This is the kind of squint wherein one eye is centrally focused, while the other deviates outwards.
• Esotropia – This is the kind of squint wherein one eye is centrally focused, while the other deviates inwards.
• Hypertropia – This is the kind of squint wherein one eye is centrally focused, while the other deviates upwards.
• Hypotropia – This is the kind of squint wherein one eye is centrally focused, while the other deviates downwards.

What causes squint?

• Some children are born with squint.
• Trauma to the nerves or muscles of the eye or brain leads to squint.
• Decreased vision is a common condition that causes squint.
• Tumour in the eyes or brain may also cause squint.
• Decreased vision due to cataracts can cause squint.

How does squint bring disturbed vision?

With both the eyes focusing on a single object at the same time, both the eyes perceive the same image. But, in the case of squint, both eyes looking in different directions, they both perceive different images; and these different images are further sent to the brain to be perceived. Once this is done, it may lead to any of the following conditions.

• Double vision – When the vision in the deviated eye appears blurred
• Visual confusion – When the different images perceived by both the eyes merge into one
• Amblyopia – When the blurred images from the deviated eyes are ignored or suppressed

How can squint be treated?

• Patching – The good eye is patched everyday for a few hours, so that your brain if forced to use the affected eye, thus strengthening it in the process.
• Vision correction glasses – Glasses may be prescribed to treat the refractive error, and strengthen the vision of the weak eye.
• Surgery – This is the last retort to treating squint, when nothing else seems to work, or when the condition is worse than normal. Surgery aligns the eye muscles to straighten the eyes.

Where to get the right treatment?

You need to make sure that you are getting your eyes treated only by experts. You don’t want to risk your eyes at any cost! Thus, you need the best squint specialist in Mumbai, one like Arohi Eye Hospital, where a gold medal squint specialist is available to help treat any kind of squint, with the most successful outcomes.

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