Kaşkaloğlu Eye Hospital Ophthalmology Specialist Prof. Dr. Önder Üretmen said that children with a family history of lazy eye, strabismus and high prescription glasses should have an eye examination even if they do not have any complaints.
Stating that strabismus and lazy eye treatment should be done in childhood, Üretmen said that early diagnosis increases the success of treatment.
Prof. Dr. Üretmen, who gave the information that lazy eye treatment can only be done up to a certain age, said, “Lazy eye, which is detected in 2 to 4 percent of the society, develops in the first years of life due to refractive errors such as strabismus, myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism or cataracts that cause blurred vision, droopy eyelids, corneal spots, intraocular hemorrhage. The risk increases even more in children with a history of birth, developmental delay, and a family history of strabismus and lazy eye. Lazy eye can develop in the first few months after birth. Effective treatment is only possible up to around 9-10 years of age. The earlier it is detected and treatment is started, the better and faster the response to treatment.”
SURGICAL AND NON-SURGICAL TREATMENTS ARE APPLIED IN STRABISMUS
Stating that strabismus can be treated at any age, Prof. Dr. Önder Üretmen continued his words as follows: “Especially in cases of fixed strabismus that occur in childhood, the child’s visual functions are better protected and loss of depth perception is prevented by early treatment. Therefore, an ophthalmologist should be consulted as soon as strabismus is suspected. The treatment of strabismus varies according to its type and cause. Strabismus has both surgical and non-surgical treatments. For example, inward deviation that develops in a child with high hyperopia can only be treated with glasses. In contrast, deviations that occur in the first months of life usually require surgical treatment. In sudden strabismus that occurs in adults, the first thing to do is to reveal the cause and treat the double vision that affects the patient’s daily life. Positive results are obtained with botox injection in deviations that develop due to extraocular muscle paralysis in adulthood. In cases where non-surgical treatments are insufficient, the need for surgical treatment arises.”
