What is a childhood squint and how does it affect my child’s sight?
If your child develops a squint (strabismus), it means one of their eyes has turned inward, outward, upward, or downward. Each eye is looking in a different direction and their eyes are sending different pictures to the brain. Their brain finds it difficult to merge the two pictures into one clear image because the pictures are so different, so it ignores the pictures coming from the eye which has the squint and uses only the vision from the better/straight eye.
This can lead to lazy eye (amblyopia) in the eye which has the squint. Amblyopia is caused when the visual system doesn't develop correctly in one eye, causing the vision to be blurred in that eye even when a child is wearing the correct glasses they need.
Amblyopia can lead to a permanent reduction in how well the affected eye can see. There are different ways to treat an amblyopic eye and treatment is more successful before the age of 7, as vision is still developing.
Unfortunately, amblyopia cannot be fixed in later life so it’s very important that squints and amblyopia are picked up early and treated as soon as possible.
Most squints occur in young children. Squints are common and studies suggest that somewhere between 2 to 3 per cent of children will have a squint. Sometimes when a child has a squint, the sight in the eye which squints may be weaker than the sight in the eye without the squint.
Further information can be found on the RNIB website:
RNIB Specialist Advice Service Advisors can give further information on this topic
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