Retina

The retina is a severe and sight-threatening condition that may cause poor or blurred vision. The retinal diseases are some of the most common causes of a permanent loss of vision in many patients, if not treated on time.

Problems Associated with Retina

There are four main types of disorders which are related to the retina

1. Diabetic Retinopathy – It is one of the most common issues associated with people having diabetes. In Diabetic Retinopathy disease, the high blood sugar levels cause damage to the blood vessels of the retina and damage it. In the advanced stages, it can lead to blindness.
2. Retinopathy Of Prematurity – RoP is mainly caused due to the retinal blood vessels developing abnormally and affects prematurely born babies. It can also lead to retinal detachment and blindness.
3. Age-Related Macular Degeneration – The damage of Macula can cause AMD which can lead to a permanent vision loss.
4. Retinal Detachment – It is mainly the detachment of the retina from the layer underneath. If it is not taken care of properly, there is a chance of a permanent vision loss.

Squint

Squint is a misalignment of the two eyes where both eyes are not looking in the same direction.This misalignment might be steady or might be available for the duration of the day or it might show up sporadically and the remainder of the time the eyes might be straight, this is called intermittent squint.

Types Of Squint

Squints are classified depending on direction of the squinting eye

• Convergent squint or esotropia when one eye is turning in
• Divergent squint or exotropia when the eye is turning out
• Vertical squint (Hypertropia / Hypotropia) when one eye is pointing upwards/downward

Symptoms

• In a child, the parents may notice the deviation of eyes.
• It is important to remember that the eyes of a newborn are rarely aligned at birth. Most establish alignment at 3-4 weeks of age. Therefore squint in any child who is more than one month old must be taken seriously and should be evaluated by an ophthalmologist.
• Adults noticing double vision, or misalignment of the eyes should get themselves checked up too.

How is squint diagnosed ?

The squint is diagnosed by the ophthalmologist. He or she would do a few special tests to confirm the squint, to try and find out the cause and to quantify the amount of deviation.
In some cases there may be a false appearance of squint due to broad nasal bridge in a child. An ophthalmologist will be able to differentiate between a true squint and false squint.