What is Eye Strain? Why Does It Happen?

Eye misalignment is when the eyes are not aligned properly and look in different directions. The problem of eye misalignment, also known as strabismus, causes the person to experience vision disorders, and these disorders can be corrected by various methods. In eye misalignment, one of the eyes looks forward while the other looks in, out, up or down. Eye Strain is a problem that can be seen in people of all ages, and it often occurs after birth and can be diagnosed early. However, in rare cases, it is noticed late.

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Eye misalignment also affects a person's vision because both eyes must see the same point in order to see properly. Eye strain causes the eye to not be able to focus on the same point at the same time, and this can be caused by various problems. Early diagnosis of strabismus is an advantage for treatment. For this reason, families should be especially careful about their children's vision problems. At the same time, this problem can be completely eliminated by performing surgeries. However, in order to treat the strabismus problem, it must be diagnosed by a doctor. Because not every treatment may be suitable for every person. “What causes eye misalignment?” You can continue reading the article for the answer to the question.

What Causes Eye Strain?

While eye misalignment may exist in some people since childhood, sometimes it begins later in life. There are six muscles that allow eye movement in humans. One muscle moves the eye to the right, while another muscle moves it to the left. It provides movement up, down and at an angle with the other four muscles. All six muscles must work together to focus on a single image. In some cases, eye misalignment may occur due to restriction or improper development of a muscle. Eye misalignment may occur due to a problem in the nerves that transmit information to the muscles or problems with the control center in the brain responsible for executing movements. People with strabismus often have a problem that affects their eye muscles. What causes eye strain? Causes of eye misalignment include:

• Diabetes
• Thyroid disease (Graves disease)
• Myasthenia gravis
• Brain tumors
• Stroke
• Head trauma
• Damage to eye muscles
• Premature birth
• Cerebral palsy
• Down syndrome
• Hydrocephalus
• Cataract

Symptoms of Eye Distortion

Squinting is a condition that occurs due to weakness or various problems in the eye muscles, and symptoms may develop depending on the cause. “What causes eye misalignment?” The answer to the question is also an important point regarding the symptoms. If the symptoms of eye strain are congenital, they begin to appear when the person is 3-4 months old. The most obvious symptom is eyes that do not look at the same point. Other symptoms seen in people with misaligned eyes are:

• Feeling of weakness in or around the eye
• Feeling of something pulling around the eye
• Double vision
• Blurred vision
• Difficulty in reading or loss of depth perception
• The desire to move the head to see clearly

In some cases, children have symptoms of eye wandering. but visual impairment does not occur. This condition is called false strabismus. If the child has vision, this may cause them to appear squinted. Eyes may seem misaligned, but the light reflection is in the same place in both eyes, and since there are no light problems, children do not experience visual disturbances. If this condition is left untreated, it can cause headaches, double vision, eye fatigue and lazy eye.

Types of Eye Distortion

Ophthalmology can be classified as introversion, extroversion, or vertical. The most common type of strabismus is inversion, known as esotropia. That is, the eyes begin to turn towards the nose. There is more than one type of esotropia. These are:

• Accommodative Esotropia: It usually occurs due to untreated hyperopia. The focusing system depends on a system that controls where one looks. Hyperopia people pay more attention to make images clearer. Symptoms of accommodative esotropia include double vision as well as constantly moving and tilting one's head to see more clearly.
• Intermittent Esotropia: Intermittent exotropia may develop when a person cannot coordinate both eyes together. People with intermittent exotropia may experience headaches, difficulty reading, and eyestrain. They may also close one eye when looking away or in bright sunlight.

Eye wandering does not only occur in the form of turning inward. Eye deviation is called exotropia. Vertical eye deviation may also occur. If one eye is higher than the other, it is called hypertropia, and if it is lower than the other, it is called hypotropia. It is possible to name strabismus other than the points of focus. If the eyes are inadequate in terms of blood flow or if eye misalignment occurs due to damage to the cranial nerves, it is called paralytic strabismus.

How is Eye Strain Diagnosed?

An optometrist can diagnose strabismus through examination. The optometrist measures visual acuity to assess how much vision is affected. Or the doctor may use an automated tool that evaluates the refractive power of the patient's eye. Apart from these, alignment and focusing tests can be performed. Drops can be applied to make it easier to focus while performing some tests. In this way, the examination is performed and strabismus can be diagnosed. At the same time, the position of the person's eyes is also a physical factor that can provide information about strabismus. In people who consult a doctor, typically one eye looks at one point and the other eye looks at another point. While he should be looking at the same point under normal circumstances, looking at different points creates a noticeable appearance from the front. However, a doctor's examination is required to evaluate this situation in terms of vision disorders. At the same time, if the person's strabismus may occur due to another disease, the person asks his doctor "What causes eye misalignment?" can ask the question. According to the examination result, the most appropriate treatment protocol is adopted.

Eye Strain Treatment

When early diagnosis is made, eye strain is more easily treated. Eye strain can be treated with glasses, prism-mounted contact lenses, vision therapy, or strabismus surgery. The purpose of the glasses used is to help correct strabismus by correcting refractive errors.

One side of the prism lenses produced for eye misalignment is thicker than the other side. A prism can also be attached to the glasses, or prisms can be used as part of the lens. Prisms change the light entering the eye and eliminate the need for the eye to rotate to see objects. At the same time, the use of eye exercises may also be recommended by the doctor for some people. These eye exercises can help relieve eye movement and focusing problems. Especially people who have had eye muscle surgery may need exercises called vision therapy to improve eye coordination and prevent them from becoming misaligned again. However, these methods do not provide a permanent improvement. Strabismus surgery may be required for treatment in adulthood.

Eye Misalignment Surgery

Ophthalmic surgery or eye muscle surgery is a corrective treatment for strabismus. Surgery is performed to improve eye alignment and help restore proper vision. Typically, squinting occurs when the muscles around the eyes are too stiff or too weak. The doctor may relax, tighten, or move certain muscles to make the eyes work together, taking into account the type of eye misalignment. The muscles are then repositioned to help the eyes point in the same direction. This procedure can be applied to one eye or to both eyes.

If there is slackness in the muscles, the muscles are shortened and realigned to ensure that the eyes are in the correct alignment. If the cause of strabismus is tightness in the muscles, then the muscles are separated and reconnected behind the eye. In this way, the muscles are weakened and correct alignment is achieved. Eyelid surgery can be performed on adults as well as on children. However, not every individual is considered suitable for surgery. You should contact your ophthalmologist to get information about your suitability for treatment with surgery.