How to correct cross-eyed children

Children often learn things they have never seen before because they find them novel. Since children have excellent memory, they have strong learning ability and can learn things very quickly. Sometimes children find it funny to see others getting anxious, so they rush to learn. Some children gradually become cross-eyed as they learn, which makes parents very distressed. Let's learn how to correct children's cross-eyes.

Most of the time, it is a normal physiological phenomenon for babies to cross their eyes. Only a very small number of babies have real cross-eyes.

In the first few weeks of life, the eye movements of babies are unilaterally uncoordinated and the eyes may be biased. In addition, some children are born with a low nose bridge and wide eyes. There is a piece of epicanthus on the inner canthus of the eye on the side of the nose, which covers the bulbar conjunctiva on the side of the nose (commonly known as the white of the eye), making the black eyeball look as if it has moved to the middle, and people think that the child is cross-eyed.

As the child grows, the bridge of the nose becomes higher and the epicanthus will gradually disappear. By 5 to 6 months, the binocular gaze function is fully developed, and by 6 to 7 months, the eye movement becomes bilateral and coordinated. If the eye deviates at this time, you should suspect the possibility of strabismus and go to the hospital for further examination.

Cross-eye must be treated early, otherwise amblyopia is likely to occur, which will affect the child's stereoscopic vision. Children with cross-eyes only see things with one eye, so they have no sense of three-dimensionality and cannot distinguish the distance of objects. For example, when doing needlework, the thread cannot be threaded through the eye of the needle; when filling ink, the pen cannot be inserted into the ink bottle; small objects can never be reached, etc., which affects future work and study.

If you suspect your baby is cross-eyed, you should pay attention to the following when seeking medical attention:

1. Before seeing a doctor: When it is discovered that the baby may have esotropia and needs medical treatment, it is recommended that parents help the baby prepare mentally before taking him to the doctor, and let the baby know that the doctor is friendly and will not let the baby get injections or take medicine.

2. On the day of consultation: The baby's health should be in good condition, and he should not be sick or in a bad mood. Please also reserve more time so that the baby has enough time to cooperate with the doctor.

3. During treatment: After confirming the diagnosis, parents should cooperate with the doctor's treatment with the right attitude. The younger the baby is, the more plastic his visual development is. The correction of strabismus, in addition to the requirements of eye position, is also related to the visual development of the left and right eyes and the more advanced binocular vision, that is, the establishment of three-dimensional perception. Don't ignore it because you think your baby is still young or that it only affects the appearance.

Can cross-eyes heal themselves?

This starts with the muscles and nerves that are responsible for eye movement. There are six extraocular muscles outside the eyeball. Under normal circumstances, when people look at things, no matter in which direction, the movement of both eyes is parallel and consistent. Since the contraction of the muscles is carried out under the regulation of the nerves, when looking at a target on the right, both eyes turn to the right, and when looking at a target on the left, both eyes turn to the left. There will be no phenomenon of the right eye turning to the right while the left eye does not turn to the right. If a child's two eyes develop differently, one eye is normal and the other eye is highly myopic or astigmatist; or the degree of hyperopia of the two eyes is too different; or the child likes to play with small toys and often plays games in weak light conditions since childhood, which leads to imbalance of eye muscles and neuromuscular paralysis, then cross-eyes are likely to occur.

Therefore, if "cross-eyes" are not treated in time, the neuromuscular paralysis cannot heal itself. Moreover, because one eye has been squinting for a long time, the patient cannot use this squinting eye. Over time, it will affect the development of the eye and even cause amblyopia. If not treated in time, it will be difficult to restore vision in the future. Children with "cross-eyes" only use one eye to see things, so they have no three-dimensional sense of seeing things and cannot distinguish the distance of objects. For example, when doing needlework, the thread cannot be threaded through the eye of the needle; when filling ink, the pen cannot be inserted into the ink bottle; small objects can never be reached, etc., which affects future work and study.