Strabismus or ‘squint’ occurs when the two eyes are not pointing in the same direction. It affects about 3% of the population, with many people having it since childhood. Squint in children can often lead to amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’. This is usually treated by patching the ‘straight’ eye.
Sometimes glasses can straighten the eyes by helping longsighted eyes to focus without having to turn in. In some cases, surgery is needed to align the eyes.
Adult strabismus is generally a more complex issue as the causes may be due to stroke, brain injury, eye muscle or nerve problems. In many cases it can cause double vision. Sometimes your eye surgeon may order a scan to look at the brain and the eye sockets to further investingate mechanical and neurological causes of the eye turn.
Botox injections are also sometimes used in adult eye turns either in conjuction with or prior to any surgical intervention to assist with the assessment of double vision.