Can Strabismus and Amblyopia lead to blindness?
Strabismus and Amblyopia are two forms of eye conditions that may lead to blindness if left untreated. Former one is the medical term for crossed eyes while second one occurs when vision is weakened in one or both eyes.
However, if your baby's eyes appear to be crossed, don't worry, it is the natural course of events. Infant's eye muscles work in unison and at times, some of them are weaker comparatively. Consequent upon which, one eye is not able to turn in the similar fashion as the other one although, this problem usually corrects itself by the end of the first year.
If the problem persists, it may lead to blindness or reduced vision. Nevertheless, here are a few points, which'll help you in preventing the disease:
1. This is a very simple and easy way of doing an eye test. Shine a light into your baby's eyes. You will notice a tiny white dot right in the center of each eye, which'll remain there as you move the light sideways. If the dot appears to be on the sides of the eye, then perceive that your child is suffering from crossed eyes or strabismus. Do make your pediatrician aware of this during your next session.
2. At times, you may notice false strabismus. You may conceive a quirk in your infant when the baby is too tired to respond or with the kids who have a wide nasal bridge. What actually happens is that the white of the babies with narrower nasal bridge is more prominent as compared with the white of babies with a wide nasal bridge, which gives the false impression of crossed eyes.
3. If your infant posses the problem, take him to your pediatrician immediately. The doctor will propose treatment to strengthen the weak eye muscles and develop the visual pathways in the brain. Generally, it involves wearing a patch in the strong eye that would compel the muscles in the weaker eye to work harder. This could be done with some eye drops for hazing the strong eye vision. Surgery would be the last option for curing the weakened muscles.
