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What is Strabismus?

Strabismus, more commonly known as crossed-eyes, is a vision condition in which a person can not align both eyes simultaneously under normal conditions. One or both of the eyes may turn in, out, up or down. An eye turn may be constant (when the eye turns all of the time) or intermittent (turning only some of the time, such as, under stressful situations or when ill). Whether constant or intermittent strabismus always requires appropriate evaluation and treatment.

Who has strabismus?

It is estimated that up to 5 percent of all children have some type or degree of strabismus. Children with strabismus may initially have double vision. This occurs because of the misalignment of the two eyes in relation to one another. In an attempt to avoid double vision, the brain will eventually disregard the image of one eye (called suppression).

To learn more about strabismus, go to AAO www.aao.org/education/pediatric.cfm?ss=fic_pediatric_strabismus or AAPOS www.aapos.org

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