What is heterophoria

If you feel that the other person cannot look you in the eye when you are talking to him/her, and if you feel that he/she is looking at someone else even though he/she is clearly looking at you, this is strabismus. There are many types of strabismus, including esotropia, exotropia, and latent strabismus. They do not necessarily require surgery to adjust, but can also be corrected by wearing glasses. The best time to treat strabismus is between 3 and 6 years old. If a child has this problem, be sure to seize the best treatment time.

The dangers of strabismus

Since the harm caused by strabismus is a long-term gradual process, the strabismus of children will not affect their life and study too much at the beginning, so many parents of children with strabismus think that strabismus will just make their appearance ugly, and all problems will be solved by cosmetic surgery when they grow up. In this regard, some experts warned: "This view is very harmful. In addition to correcting the eye position and improving the appearance, the more important treatment of strabismus is functional treatment, including amblyopia treatment and the restoration of binocular normal vision function."

It is also pointed out that the treatment of strabismus has very strict time requirements. During childhood, the visual system is in a period of vigorous growth and development and is plastic. The younger the age, the greater the plasticity and the better the treatment effect. It is difficult to restore the normal function of the strabismus if treatment is carried out after the development period ends, and the only way to achieve improvement in appearance is to perform corrective surgery alone. Generally, the cure rate can be as high as over 80% within 6 years of age. The treatment effect will be significantly reduced with the increase of age. Many children regret the delay in treatment for the rest of their lives.

Strabismus treatment

Methods for correcting strabismus can be divided into surgical and non-surgical treatments. Personalized treatment is adopted according to the different types of strabismus, including refractive error correction, amblyopia treatment, binocular single vision function training and eye position correction surgery. According to Director Wang Ping, a strabismus and amblyopia expert at New Vision Eye Hospital, not all strabismus require surgery. Accommodative esotropia, which is completely caused by excessive accommodation and excessive convergence of the hyperopic eye, can be corrected by wearing glasses, while other types of strabismus can be corrected through safe and simple minimally invasive surgery.

1. Non-surgical treatment: (different treatment methods should be selected according to different types of strabismus)

1. Treatment of heterophoria can be achieved through correction by orthographic training and prism therapy.

2. Concomitant esotropia can be treated by wearing glasses, orthoptic training, and active amblyopia treatment to improve vision. If orthoptic training cannot correct esotropia, surgical treatment is required.

3. Concomitant exotropia can be treated with minimal-power prisms and orthoptic training, but constant exotropia generally requires surgical treatment. 2. Surgical treatment - minimally invasive correction surgery for strabismus

When to treat strabismus

It depends on the type of strabismus, the condition of both eyes and the time of onset.

① Congenital strabismus requires surgery as soon as possible. Surgery within 6-18 months after birth is best for establishing binocular vision.

② For monocular esotropia or strabismus with amblyopia, treat the amblyopia first and then proceed to surgery after the binocular vision is balanced.

③ For children with small-degree strabismus, intermittent strabismus, or unstable strabismus, close observation of the change pattern is required before surgery is performed.

④ For strabismus that occurs after the age of 2, surgery should be performed between the ages of 3 and 6.