Squint disease and dimness of vision treatment
- Diagnosis and treatment of the squint disease in infants, children and adults:
• A visual acuity test, the measurement of squint angle by means
of a synoptophore,
• An examination of disorders of accommodation and convergence
• Children and adults eligibility for the squint operation.
- Surgical treatment of the squint disease
- Determination of the binocular vision degree with the use of :
• Synoptophore (Clement Clark HaagStreit)
(simultaneous perception, fusion, stereoscopic vision)
• Tests (House Fly, Circles, Animals)
- Conducting orthoptic exercises
- Conducting pleoptic exercises
- Irradiation
• Flash euthyscope (Oculus)
• Visuscope (Oculus)
- Determining refraction defects
• infants (skiascopy)
• children and adults (auto refractometer, ophthalmic cassette, phoropter )
Does your child:
- tilt the head or the whole body while drawing, reading or writing?
- turn pages, books or exercise books in different directions ?
- screw the eyes or rub the eyes?
- complain about headaches during homework?
- have problems with spatial imagination, moves the over a book or exercise book while reading?
- not tolerate too strong light?
- report double vision?
- often stumble over his own legs and falls on different objects ?
- have problems with the maintenance of equilibrium?
If parents or teachers observe at least a few from the listed above symptoms they should refer the child to an orthoptic clinic as soon as possible. Eyesight defects should be detected as soon as possible, preferably in the first few years in life because then there is the greatest chance to cure them totally.
A squint (both manifest and latent) disease makes reading and writing very difficult for a child. A child with the manifest squint sees double and blurry images, has no proper binocular vision, which means that there is no ability of the three-dimensional vision. Your child has trouble with doing simple things e.g. buttoning up, tying shoelaces, avoids drawing, cutting and physical games and activities (has problems with distance assessment). Do not delay then and therefore help your child to see the world clearly.
Orthoptic screening?
Eye examinations besides the visual acuity test (myopia / hyperopia) include different aspects of vision. Characteristics of the organ of vision are not included in the typical ophthalmic exam. These are, among others, eyeball movements, latent squint, convergence, binocular vision (three-dimensional) and colour recognition.
The orthoptic examination is carried out by means of specialised equipment and ophthalmic tests.
It must be firmly emphasised that both eyesight defects and organ of vision dysfunctions cause delays in the psychomotor development of a child hampering his start in school. Irregularities within the organ of vision cause concentration disorders, ADHD syndrome and most of all difficulties in mastering the basic skills in reading and writing.
They often result in problems with the precision of hand movements, eye-hand coordination or increased fatigue. The uncorrected vision defect may also cause headaches during homework or other work performed at the desk.
Early detected eye defects and dysfunctions of the organ of vision allow to restore or compensate full visual acuity. With lower visual acuity corrective lenses are applied, whereas in visual dysfunctions orthoptic rehabilitation is used.
Due to prophylaxis i.e. an early detection of defects and disorders within the organ of vision, children should be included in the orthoptic screening first of all those:
* from the jeopardized and pathological pregnancy
* premature infants
* with the lower muscular tone
* dyslexia risk factors
* parents with eyesight defects and organ of vision diseases
