children s health issues
Strabismus
Types of Strabismus
There are several types of strabismus. Some types are characterized by inward turning of the eye (esotropia or cross-eye) and some by outward turning of the eye (exotropia or walleye). Other types are characterized by upward turning of the eye (hypertropia) or downward turning of the eye (hypotropia). The defect in alignment may be constant (the eye turns all of the time) or intermittent (the eye turns only some of the time) and may be mild or severe. There are several types of strabismus. In the most common types, an eye turns inward (esotropia or cross-eye, top) or outward (exotropia or walleye, bottom). In this illustration, the child's right eye is affected. is an unseen, minor misalignment of the eyes. This misalignment is easily corrected by the brain to maintain apparent alignment of the eyes and allow fusion of the images from both eyes. Thus, phorias usually do not cause symptoms and do not need treatment unless they are large and decompensate, causing Double Vision (diplopia). Atropiais a constant, visible deviation or misalignment of one eye or both eyes. An intermittent eye deviation that is frequent and poorly controlled by the brain is termed intermittent tropia. 