What is Strabismus

Strabismus is a condition in which your eye muscles do not work together to keep both of your eyes looking in the same direction (binocular vision). One eye is either turned in, out, up, or down.

This is often called being cross-eyed. When the eyes do not move together (are not aligned), two images are seen. This results in double vision (diplopia).

What are the causes?

This condition may be caused by:

• Stroke.
• Complex migraine headache.
• Bell palsy.
• Viral infection.
• Tumors or abnormal blood vessels growing behind the eye.
• Thyroid gland disease.
• Brain tumor.
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• Muscle relaxants or other drugs and medicines.
• Guillain-Barre syndrome.
• Graves disease.
• Botulism.

What increases the risk?

This condition is more likely to develop in people who have:

• A family history of strabismus.
• Farsightedness (hyperopia).
• Other diseases or conditions that contribute to vision loss.

What are the signs or symptoms?

The main symptom of this condition is noticing that one of your eyes is turned in, out, up, or down. Other symptoms may include:

• Sensitivity to bright light. You may squint or keep one eye closed.
• Poor depth perception. This may make driving difficult.
• Headaches.
• Eye fatigue or strain.
• Double vision.
• Eyes that do not move together.
• Excessive sleepiness.
• Having difficulty reading.

How is this diagnosed?

This condition may be diagnosed by medical history and physical exam. An eye specialist (optometrist or ophthalmologist) will examine your eyes. You may also have tests to:

• Evaluate how well you can see (visual acuity test).
• Check how well your eyes focus and move together (alignment and focusing test).

How is this treated?

Treatment for strabismus depends on what is causing the condition. Treatment will focus on addressing the underlying cause. Treatment may include:

• Wearing glasses.
• Wearing an eye patch.
• Eye drops.
• Surgery to help align the eyes.
• Eye muscle exercises.

Follow these instructions at home:

• Wear glasses or an eye patch, if prescribed by your health care provider.
• Do eye muscle exercises as told by your health care provider, if this applies.
• Keep all follow-up visits as told by your health care provider. This is important.
• Do not drive or use heavy machinery if your vision is blurry.

Contact a health care provider if:

• Your eye turning gets worse.
• Your vision gets worse.