Esotropia - Symptoms, Treatment and Causes of the Visual Impairment
Physical Symptoms of Esotropia
Estropia leads to many physical symptoms, identifiable by simple visible observation. Commonly, those afflicted with the disorder are said to be “cross-eyed.” This appears as one or both eyes turns inward or become misaligned to each other. As a person’s vision becomes impaired, the ability of the eyes to take two different images and merge them declines. To compensate, the eyes realign themselves, giving the appearance of a “lazy eye.”
Causes of the Symptoms of Esotropia
Sometimes, people who are farsighted suffer from overcompensation in one or both eyes. This is a condition known as hyperopia. Another cause of esotropia is when the eyes are not properly connected when functioning, a condition known as dissociated vertical deviation or DVD. One eye fails to work with the other eye to achieve a stable image. Many times, the causes of esotropia are brought on by injury. Damages to the ocular cavity or cranium can result in one or both eyes failing to properly align when gazing at objects.
Above: Right Esotropia. (Supplied by DW1979 at Wikimedia Commons;Public Domain; https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fa/Right_Esotropia.JPG)
Types of Esotropia
The symptoms of esotropia take the form of many different physical attributes. Some patients primarily experience the misalignment of a single eye, either right or left, while others alternate between the two.
When the level of deviation is not affected by the location a person is staring, the form of esotropia is said to be concomitant. This can occur constantly or intermittently. Inversely, when the direction of a person’s gaze does impact the amount of deviation, it is referred to as incomitant. Concomitant deviations most commonly onset during childhood, while incomitant can occur at any age.
Likewise, esotropia is considered to either be a primary or secondary disorder. If the only real symptom afflicting a person is esotropia, then the disease is a primary case. However, if esotropia is essentially a side effect of another disorder, then it is considered a secondary problem.
Treatment for Esotropia Symptoms
The first goal of treating people with the symptoms of esotropia is to determine if there is some other underlying condition causing the disorder. Once this has been pronounced, treatment to rectify the situation can begin. If the cause is based on some sort of damage to the eye’s function itself, surgery or drug treatment can occasionally help. However, most cases can be treated using specialized glasses that slowly shift the eyesight of the patient. Additionally, treatment with Botulinum toxins, used to pacify certain muscular movements, has shown dramatic results in adult patients.
Resources
“Symptoms of Esotropia” WrongDiagnosis.com
“Esotropia” VisionRx.com
