Squint in Children斜視

convergent squint

divergent squint

What is a squint?

A squint develops when the eye muscles do not work in a balanced way so that the eyes do not look in the same direction. That is, when one eye looks straight ahead the other eye is pointing inwards, outward, up or down.

What are the causes of squint in children? When does it occur?

Squint affects 5-8% of children. Most squints develop sometime in the first three years of life. On some occasions, squint may also first occur in adults.

Sometimes a child is born with a squint (congenital). Squint may also be related to refractive errors, usually long-sightedness. In some cases, a squint is one feature of a more generalized or brain condition. For example, a squint may develop in some children with hydrocephalus, brain injury etc.

When should I suspect that my child is having squint?

One may notice that the eyes not looking straight ahead. In newborn babies it is quite normal for their eyes to 'cross' occasionally. However, if this happens to your child beyond three months of age, it is advisable to talk to your eye doctor.

Your child may also look at you with one eye closed, or with their head turned to one side. Parents may also notice that a child’s eye drifts out when he /she is fatigued. Teachers and peers may also report that the child loses eye contact easily.

What problems can be caused by a squint in a child?

Lazy eye (amblyopia)
It is a condition where the vision in an eye is poor and it is caused by lack of use of the eye in early childhood, as the ‘weaker’ eye does not learn to see. If the squint is not treated before the age of about seven years, the visual impairment usually remains permanent.

The appearance
the child may have a reduced self-esteem because of the way their squint looks.

Impaired binocular vision
The child does not have a good sense of 'depth' when looking at objects.

Will my child outgrow the squint?

No, and in fact the sight in the affected eye will gradually get worse. A squint should be treated as soon as possible after it's detected, or it may lead to irreversible visual loss.

What are the treatments for squint?

Treatment typically involves the following:

• Treating lazy eye, the younger the child is treated, the quicker the improvement in vision.
• Wearing glasses to correct any refractive error
• Surgery is often needed to correct the appearance of the squint itself, and may help to restore binocular vision in some cases.

Surgery for a squint involves moving the muscles attached to the outside of the eye to a new position. It may sometimes be necessary to operate on both eyes in order to 'balance' them effectively, even if the squint is only in one eye, in some cases, two or more operations are needed to get the eyes straight.

內斜視 (鬥雞眼)

外斜視

什麼是斜視？

斜視是因為眼球的肌肉不能平衡運作，以致兩眼的視線不可同時注視在同一個目標上，即是一隻眼注視目標，另一隻卻偏向內、外或上、下。

斜視成因為何？它什麼時侯出現？

大約5-8%兒童有斜視，大多數在首 3 歲出現。有時斜視也可出現在成年人身上。

斜視可以出現在初生嬰兒身上 (先天性)，亦可能跟屈光不正 (一般為遠視) 有關。在某些情況下，斜視可以是全身性或腦部問題的一個表徵，例如腦水腫，腦部受創等。

我如何可留意到孩子是否有斜視？

您會發現孩子的雙目並非直視。在初生嬰兒，雙眼有時『內斜』是很普遍的。但如情況持續致嬰兒 3 個月大，便應諮詢眼科醫生。.

您可能會留意到孩子會有經常閉上一眼，側頭的動作。家長亦會發現孩子會疲倦時，眼睛會外斜。老師和朋輩會留意到孩子容易失去眼神接觸或目光散渙。.

斜視對兒童有什麼影響？

懶惰眼 (弱視)
這發生於視力較差的眼睛。幼童視力比較弱的一隻眼，會停止去『學習』觀看事物。假若此情況不能在 7 歲以前得到治療，視力將永久受損。

外觀
兒童的外觀及自我形象或會因斜視而受影響。

雙眼協調功能
兒童會因斜視，使其觀看事物缺乏『深度』和立體感。

斜視會隨孩子年紀而消失嗎？

當然不會。事實上，斜視的一眼的視力會倒退。所以，應盡早延醫診治斜視，以免造成無法彌補的視力損害。.

如何醫治斜視？

治療斜視一般有以下方法：

• 首要矯正懶惰眼，孩子越年幼接受治療，成効越顯注。
• 配帶眼鏡矯正屈光問題。
• 手術以改善外觀，亦可能有助於挽救雙眼協調視物的能力。

手術是把位眼球表面的肌肉移動到新的位置。雖然有時斜視似乎只在一隻眼睛出現，但手術可能要在雙眼進行，以平衡眼部的活動。有時要多於一次手術才能完全矯正斜視。