Squint in eyes

medicalquestions — Sat, 31 May 2008 06:01:40 +0000

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.

Vitreous Floaters in Eyes

medicalquestions — Fri, 30 May 2008 09:52:48 +0000

Question: Can you give me information on what causes vitreous floaters in the eye. How long do they last?
Floaters are abnormal clumps of cells in the center of the eyeball that cast a shadow on the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye, and the brain perceives this shadow as an object (spot) in front of the eye.
The ‘floater’ can occur at any point in the field of vision, but the closer it is to the center (i.e. when looking straight ahead), the more annoying it becomes. The cells can form in the center of the eye because of bleeding into the eye, a detached retina, infection or no apparent cause may be found. Diseases such as diabetes, leukemia, high blood pressure, and a number of rarer conditions may cause bleeding into the eye. A detached retina can be repaired by laser therapy in the early stages, but if left, may result in permanent blindness. Because there may be a serious disease causing the problem, all patients with floaters must be appropriately investigated to exclude these problems.
The condition is only treated if it is causing significant trouble, as most floaters dissipate with time.

Question: I have floaters in the inside of the eye. Could you tell me if there is any treatment for this?
Patients with floaters can ’see’ one or more fine, dark spots or lines that appear to ‘float’ across their field of vision. Floaters are actually extremely small particles that are formed from clumps of cells, and drift in the fluid that fills the eye. This fluid has the consistency of half-set jelly. These cell clumps break away from the inside lining of the eye, or are caused by bleeding from or damage to the lining of the eye ball. Most of them are not an indication of any serious disease, but because some floaters are caused by diseases such as diabetes, leukemia, high blood pressure and other rarer but more serious conditions, every patient with floaters must be carefully examined by a doctor.
The only treatment necessary in the majority of cases is reassurance, but where a particular disease is found to cause the problem, this must be treated. Persistent, annoying floaters are treated by eye specialists using lasers.

Medical Questions & Answers » blindness

Squint in eyes

Vitreous Floaters in Eyes