Strabismus In Babies

When Sherilyn was a baby, she appeared to have Strabismus or what people call ‘cock-eyed’ or cross-eyed.  For many months until she passed her 1st birthday, I was worried sick and had brought her to see several pediatricians to check her eyes out.   Upon checking her eyes,  I was reassured by the doctors that Sherilyn most likely does not have Strabismus.  But  I was still worried sick, being the wimp and worry freak that I am.   The doctors told me that the false strabismus or pseudo-strabismus is caused by

o an extra skin that covers the inner corner of the eye

o a broad, flat nose

o eyes set unusually close together or far apart

Since Sherilyn’s eyes are set quite far apart and she had quite a flat nose when she was a baby, she appeared to have Strabismus. The false Strabismus gradually disappeared as she grew older and now, her eyes look perfectly normal, thank God!

With Baby C, her eyes crossed intermittently for about 2 months, i.e. when she was 1 month old until she passed her second month, especially when an object is placed too near her eyes. When she had her first attack of UTI at 2 months old, her eyes crossed even more. After the second month, her eyes never crossed anymore and now she has beautiful eyes, thank God too!

Here’s some information on Strabismus, which I have obtained from Health A-Z.

Definition
Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes do not point in the same direction. It can also be referred to as a tropia or squint.

Description
Strabismus occurs in 2-5% of all children. About half are born with the condition, which causes one or both eyes to turn:

inward (esotropia or “crossed eyes”)

outward (exotropia or “wall eyes”)

upward (hypertropia)

downward (hypotropia)

Strabismus is equally common in boys and girls. It sometimes runs in families.

Types of strabismus
Esotropia is the most common type of strabismus in infants. Accommodative esotropia develops in children under age two who cross their eyes when focusing on objects nearby. This usually occurs in children who are moderately to highly farsighted (hyperopic).

Another common form of strabismus, exotropia, may only be noticeable when a child looks at far-away objects, daydreams, or is tired or sick.

Sometimes the eye turn is always in the same eye; however sometimes the turn alternates from one eye to the other’.

Most children with strabismus have comitant strabismus. No matter where they look, the degree of deviation does not change. In incomitant strabismus, the amount of misalignment depends upon which direction the eyes are pointed.

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