The focus of the world’s most serious eye problems like blindness, myopia, cataract continues to grab most of the spotlight. But there is another serious medical condition related to the eye that is too serious to be ignored. And the condition we are talking about here is that of Strabismus.
What is strabismus?
In a layman’s language, strabismus is the medical condition of having cross eyes i.e. the person cannot align both the eyes simultaneously. Millions of children and adults form all over the world suffer from this problem. But the good thing is that it is curable.
What causes strabismus?
Before we get into the treatment part of this eye condition, let us have a look at the common causes leading to the rise of strabismus. It has been observed that children suffering from medical problems like hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and brain tumors can easily develop strabismus. But family history is considered to be the biggest factor contributing for the same.
Type of strabismus
Medical science has classified this eye condition into following different types, based on the cause of origin and various other factors:
– Congenital esotropia – inward turning of the eyes
– Infantile esotropia – either eyes look in opposite direction
– Accommodative esotropia – excessive inward turning of the eye
– Esotropia with amblyopia
Can this be treated?
Yes, it can be. Based on the type of strabismus, the ophthalmologist might recommend you to use spectacles to correct the problem, but in severe conditions surgery is the only option to treat strabismus.
The surgery will involve correcting the unbalanced eye muscles that are causing the eye ball to move in wrong direction. As part of the surgery, the ophthalmologist reaches the eye muscles by making a small incision in the tissue that covers the eye. Using this incision, the eye muscles are detached from the wall and repositioned based on the position in which the eye turns.
And within a few days of recovery time the person is able to view things normally.
Severity of the problem
An important thing worth mentioning here is that strabismus is more serious than people think. Children from growing countries, who don’t have the required resources to get strabismus treatment, have to face serious problems because of it. The worst thing is that there is still lot more that needs to be done in order to eliminate this problem, which is easily curable.
But thanks to organizations like the Give Me Sight Foundation and doctors like Dr. John Haines, there is a ray of hope for children living in these regions. The organization is working towards offering help related to eye problems like strabismus, cataract, blindness and more, and inspiring people to donate eyes. And there are plenty of other organizations and people from all across the globe who are working towards fighting this problem and make the world a better place to live.
