Question: The doctor is concerned about my grand-daughter’s squint. What is a squint, and is it serious?
A squint (or strabismus, to give it its correct medical name), occurs when the two eyes do not align equally when looking at a distant object. One eye appears to be looking in one direction, while the other is looking in a different direction. This is quite normal when looking at something very close, as both eyes turn in to look at it.
If a child does have a significant squint, the brain will gradually suppress the sight in one eye, to avoid double vision. The affected eye may never learn to see again, resulting in the child becoming blind in that eye. The correction of a squint at an early age is therefore vital. Treatment usually involves prescribing special spectacles to correct the problem. If the squint is more severe, the good eye will be covered for a period every day, as well as using the glasses. This strengthens the vision in the poor eye and prevents blindness in that eye. In marked degrees of squint, it is necessary to operate on the tiny muscles that control eye movement to shorten those that are not pulling the eye around far enough.

Question: I get flashes of black or clear spots or shapes in my eyes. My vision is still perfect. Any suggestions?
I have several suggestions as to the cause, but they will all end the same way— you must see a doctor!
The most likely cause is that you have a floater in your eye. This is a clump of cells floating in the fluid inside the eye. They can be quite annoying, and can be destroyed by laser treatment. The problem is what has caused the floater? The cells may have broken away for no serious reason, but it is possible that they are the first sign of significant eye problems. For this reason floaters must always be checked by an ophthalmologist (eye specialist).
Spots in your vision may also be due to migraines (and these are not always accompanied by a headache), a damaged retina (the light-sensitive layer of cells at the back of the eyeball), a cataract (cloudiness or damage to the lens in the eye), a deteriorating blood supply to the eye (for example after a stroke) or due to a tumor in or around the eye or the brain.
It is because there are so many possible nasty causes that it is essential to have an accurate diagnosis.

Question: Can glare damage your eyes?
Yes. Glare will cause chronic inflammation to the narrow segment of the white of the eyes that is exposed to the reflected sun’s rays when squinting. Over a period of several years this can lead to the build-up of scar and fat tissue in this area. This is known as a pinguecula. They cause no harm to the eye, but are unsightly and may become inflamed and itchy. Cataracts may also be aggravated by glare, including the glare reflected from water onto the eyes.
The problem is prevented by wearing high-quality sun glasses.