Strabismus

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Crossed eyes

Walleyes

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Strabismus

Alternative Names:

Crossed eyes; Esotropia; Exotropia; Squint; Walleye

Treatment:

Initially, strategies to strengthen the weakened muscles and thereby realign the eyes are attempted. Glasses may be prescribed. Eye muscle exercises may be prescribed.

If amblyopia is present, patching of the preferred eye may be done to force the child to use the amblyopic eye. Surgery may be required to realign the eye muscles if strengthening techniques are unsuccessful.

Expectations (prognosis):

With an early diagnosis, the defect can usually be corrected. With delayed treatment, vision loss in one eye may be permanent.

Complications:

Loss of vision in one eye due to amblyopia
Embarrassment over facial appearance with eye patch

Calling your health care provider:

Strabismus requires prompt medical evaluation. Call for an appointment with your health care provider or eye doctor if your child exhibits any of the following:

Complains of double vision
Has difficulty seeing
Appears to be cross-eyed
The eyes do not appear to fix on the same point

Also call if there are academic problems which could possibly be related to the child being unable to see the blackboard or reading material.

Review Date: 7/24/2004
Reviewed By: Edward B. Feinberg, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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