Treatment for strabismus
The treatment for strabismus is different for each child, depending on their vision problem and its cause. In general, treatment aims to:
- preserve, improve or restore (bring back) your child's vision
- straighten the eyes
- help the eyes work together
Treatment can include patching, eye glasses, eye drops, eye exercises and surgery. Your doctor will explain what type of treatment is best for your child.
Patching
When strabismus results in amblyopia, or "lazy eye", the most common treatment is to apply a
patch over the stronger eye. This is called occlusion (say: uh-KLOO-zhun) therapy and will help to strengthen the vision in the lazy eye. Patching one eye, or each eye in turn, can sometimes treat strabismus even if your child does not have amblyopia.
Your doctor will explain how often to apply the patch and how long your child will need it. The doctor will check your child often to see if the treatment is working.
Eye glasses
Your child may need glasses to help the eyes work together, to improve their vision, or both. Eye glasses will only work if your child wears them all the time when they are awake.
Eye drops
In some cases, the doctor may prescribe special eye drops to blur the vision in the stronger eye. This makes the lazy eye work harder. It is very important to
put in the eye drops correctly.
Eye exercises
In specific cases, eye exercises may help the eyes move together better. Your doctor will tell you if your child needs to do these exercises.
Surgery
If eye glasses and patching are not enough to straighten your child's eyes, your child may need strabismus surgery. This surgery is designed to straighten the eyes, but it does not replace patching or eye glasses. For more information, please call the doctor who saw your child.
Please write your doctor's name and phone number here.
Dr. ________________________ Phone: _____________________