Why Is Early Detection Important?

It is never too early to have a child’s eyes examined. Fortunately, an ophthalmologist can test even a newborn infant’s eyes. In general, research suggests that the maximum “critical period” in humans for the development of binocular vision with resultant depth perception is from just after birth to 2 years of age. Any disruption of binocular vision in this period will therefore result in strabismus and/or amblyopia. If the eye examination is delayed until the child enters school, it may be too late to properly correct strabismus and amblyopia.

Occasionally, a misaligned eye may be caused by a cataract or tumor within the eye, as mentioned earlier. It is important to know about such conditions as early as possible, so that both the underlying condition and resulting strabismus can be corrected.

Parents often get the false impression that a child may “outgrow” the problem. Though fatigue or illness may worsen strabismus, children do not outgrow strabismus. Once a child has a suspected turning of an eye, an examination by an ophthalmologist is necessary to determine the cause and to begin treatment.