MONDAY, DAY 1
WEEK 52
CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
When most people gaze at an object, both of their eyes focus on it to create a single image. But for roughly 4 percent of Americans, their eyes point in different directions some or all of the time. This condition is known as strabismus.
In many cases, children are born with unaligned eyes, called congenital strabismus. Although experts aren’t sure of the exact physiological reason, they believe that a genetic factor may lead to a problem in the nervous system. Severe farsightedness could also play a role; children may cross their eyes in order to focus. As a result, the muscles that control the eyes don’t function properly, leading to eyestrain, headaches, poor peripheral vision, and inadequate depth perception. If strabismus is not treated promptly, the brain may learn to suppress the image from the weaker eye, leading to amblyopia, or the permanent loss of vision in one eye.
Adults can also develop strabismus, most often as a result of an underlying cause, such as a stroke, a thyroid problem, or other illness. Adults with strabismus usually suffer from double vision because they aren’t able to adapt.
There are a few different treatments for strabismus. Some children may wear a patch over the dominant eye in order to strengthen the weaker one, while glasses to correct vision problems are also prescribed. But for most significant cases, surgery is recommended. First performed in 1839 by a German physician, the surgery either “strengthens” or “weakens” the muscles that control vision. During the procedure, an incision is made into the eye, and an eye muscle is either shortened with a suture or lengthened with an incision to align the eyes. Strabismus surgery is typically safe and effective.