Coping with Chronic Health Conditions: Tips

Crossed Eyes: Causes And Treatments, Including Vision Therapy

31 October 2016 by Freddie Cox

According to Eyes Apart, approximately two to four percent of America's population is affected by strabismus, or crossed eyes. If your child was recently diagnosed with strabismus, your eye doctor might be discussing various treatment options with you. Some are more invasive than others, and before you consider surgery, realize there are other ways to treat this common issue. Here are a few possible treatments for strabismus, including vision therapy:

Eye Glasses, Contact Lenses, or an Eye Patch

Crossed eyes are typically caused by weakened eye muscles, an issue with the nerves connected to the eyes or a condition that impacts the part of the brain that controls eye movements. In many cases, your child's eye doctor might recommend your child wear eye glasses or contacts.

Eye glasses or contacts will only be effective if your child is diagnosed with accommodative esotropia. Individuals with this condition are actually farsighted, and they appear cross eyed because they are trying so hard to focus on a single object. The glasses and contacts will help correct your child's vision, which in turn will correct their crossed eyes.

If your child has only one crossed eye, your eye doctor might recommend they wear a patch over the stronger eye. This will force the weaker eye's muscles and nerves to compensate for the covered dominant eye. This treatment can eventually cause the weaker eye to correct itself.

Vision Therapy

Whether your child's strabismus is caused by weak eye muscles, severe farsightedness, or issues with the nerves that control the eyes, they can still benefit from vision therapy. During vision therapy sessions, the optometrist will use a series of exercises and games that are aimed at helping your child's eyes, eye muscles, nerves, and brain work together more effectively.

In addition to several computer-based therapies, here are a few of the exercises and activities your child might encounter during their vision therapy sessions:

• Balance board – A tool that is used to treat several different cognitive, motor, and visual conditions, the balance board is a fun way to correct your child's crossed eyes. The concept behind this board is that even though your eyes are a part of your body, they work independently. Balancing on the board while focusing on various objects will help your child learn to focus with both eyes, which can help retrain their brain and strengthen their eye muscles.
• Hart chart – Another fun activity, Hart charts work by helping your child learn to focus on objects at different distances. During the sessions, the optometrist will place a chart featuring different letters on the wall and hand your child a smaller chart with the same letters. Your child will alternate between the two charts at two different distances, which can help strengthen their eye muscles and help them learn to focus.
• Brock string -- The Brock string is another common tool you might see in the optometrist's office. The string features beads of various colors, and your child will be instructed to focus on the various beads. This will help them with their visual perception, while strengthening their eye muscles.

If your child was diagnosed with strabismus, it is important to realize that surgery isn't your only option. These are only a handful of treatment options your eye doctor will have available. Your optometrist may also provide you with some exercises and games to try at home as well. If you're interested in vision therapy as a safe, non-invasive way to treat your child's crossed eyes, don't hesitate to contact an optometrist in your area, such as those at Absolute Vision Care, and ask if vision therapy will help your child.

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