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Simple eye strabismus occurs when the two eyes are not looking in the same direction at the same time. The person with strabismus will use the healthy eye to focus on an object, while the eye with strabismus will deviate inward, outward, upward, or downward, depending on the muscle imbalance. Here we learn about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of simple eye strabismus in children and adults.

Types of eye strabismus

There are different types of strabismus, which can be described by the cause or by the way the eye deviates.

• Vertical strabismus: When the eye deviates upward or downward.
• Esotropia: When the eye deviates inward.
• Exotropia: When the eye deviates outward.

Causes of simple eye strabismus

• Congenital: This is strabismus that a person is born with.
• Genetic: There is a genetic link in some cases of strabismus.
• Result of a disease or farsightedness.
• Result of an injury to the cranial nerve.
• Injury to the eye with refractive errors.
• Result of hydrocephalus: Hydrocephalus is a condition in which too much cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and around it, causing strabismus.

Signs and symptoms of simple eye strabismus

The symptoms of simple eye strabismus are evident from an early age. One of the eyes does not look directly forward.

If one of a child's eyes is closed, or if the child tilts their head when looking at objects, this may be a sign of double vision and the possibility of simple eye strabismus.

Strabismus is usually present at birth or appears at 3 months of age.

Amblyopia

If simple strabismus of the eye is not treated, it can cause amblyopia, where the brain begins to ignore vision from one eye to avoid double vision.

If there is a visual impairment in the affected eye, the child may benefit from wearing a patch over the eye to encourage vision.

Sometimes, strabismus that has been treated in childhood can return later in adulthood, leading to double vision in adults because the brain has been trained to collect data from both eyes, so one cannot be ignored.

Treatment of simple strabismus in the eye

Immediate treatment of simple strabismus in the eye reduces the risk of complications, such as amblyopia.

The younger the patient, the more effective the treatment.

Treatment of simple strabismus in children

After visiting an eye doctor and undergoing a comprehensive eye examination, the doctor knows the cause of simple strabismus and can therefore choose the most appropriate treatment for each case. These treatments include:

• Wearing glasses to correct refractive vision defects.
• Wearing a patch over the healthy eye to stimulate good vision in the affected eye.
• Surgery to restore muscle balance in the eye if the cause is weakness of one muscle over another during eye movement.

Treatment of simple strabismus in adults

• Visual training and orthoptics exercises
• Use of prism glasses
• Injections with botulinum toxin
• Surgery on the external muscles of the eye, which is the most common way to treat strabismus.

Eye exercises

Although eye exercises are not a definitive cure for strabismus, they may be helpful for those with mild and intermittent strabismus.

To perform eye exercises to treat simple strabismus in the eye, you can follow these steps:

1. Hold a pencil and extend it to the length of your arms in the middle of the distance between the eyes.
2. Look at the pencil while moving it towards the nose, and try to keep one image of it.
3. Continue moving the pencil towards the nose.
4. Hold the pencil in the closest point where a single image can be obtained.
5. If you cannot see a single image, start again.

The goal of treating simple strabismus in the eye

• Maintaining vision and protecting against vision loss or amblyopia.
• Correcting the eyes and maintaining their aesthetic appearance.
• Restoring three-dimensional vision.

Finally, simple strabismus is a disease that is easy to detect and treat. Therefore, regular visits to an eye doctor help to detect and treat it early and avoid most of its complications. Because simple strabismus can lead to amblyopia in one eye if neglected.

Now, after you have learned everything about simple strabismus of the eye, do not hesitate to ask for a consultation with Dr. Osama Hakim, consultant of ophthalmology and surgery, and strabismus, eyelids and lacrimal duct surgeries at Moroccan Eye Hospital in Dubai and founder and director of Medical Center for Eye in Egypt.