Strabismus is just a fancy medical term for a fairly common condition which most people call being “cross-eyed.” It is sometimes seen in children and is usually the result of one eye having weaker muscles than the other. Children can often be cured by wearing glasses or eye patches designed to make the weaker eye work harder until its muscles become as strong as the other eye. However, strabismus can also be a problem for adults and for older people the problem can be more difficult to treat, perhaps even requiring surgery.
A number of factors can cause strabismus in adults. In some cases it is merely a worsening of a condition that has existed untreated since childhood. Certain diseases such as thyroid eye disease can also be the cause. A stroke, head injury or damage to the eye muscles are among the other medical conditions that can lead to a chronic misalignment of the eyes. The symptoms are eyes that do not turn in harmony, double vision, sometimes combined with less severe symptoms such as trouble in focusing, chronic eye strain and reduction in peripheral vision.
The treatments for strabismus range from the minor to the advanced, and only an eye care specialist can determine which treatment is right for each strabismus case. In some cases, the condition corrects itself without any treatment at all, however, most of the time some medical intervention will be required. This may involve such measures as wearing special eye glasses or doing eye exercises. Surgery has proven to be a highly effective form of reaching a strabismus treatment adults cure. It involves cutting beneath the eyelid and adjusting the eye muscles. It is not considered major surgery, and there is minimal discomfort. Patients usually recover very quickly.
With this wide range of effective treatments there is no reason for any adult to suffer from the inconveniences or problems of personal appearance that can be caused by strabismus. However, only an eye specialist can fully evaluate how serious the condition is and what treatments would be most effective in bring about a long term cure. That is why any adult with strabismus should contact an eye care specialist as soon as possible after symptoms appear so that effective action can be taken.