When I was nine, I was diagnosed with intermittent alternating bilateral exotropia. In the 1950′s there weren’t as many therapies available as now. Mild prisms were put in my glasses to relieve some of the strain, and I was told to move my finger to my nose and watch it to strengthen the muscles. I couldn’t cross my eyes to focus on my finger as it neared my nose, so I gave up.
I could feel my eyes taking turns wandering out when I was tired. But my eyes compensated by alternating the outward turn from one eye to the other, and I was able to do what I loved most: read. Every week you’d find me walking from the library with an armload of books.
Hello, I have Exotropia I believe..? my left eye turns outwards but
Im curious if there are any ways to relieve the stress and pain of the eye
turning outwards Im not really worried so much about the cosmetic just the
eye strain sometimes really gets to me
Hi Jeffio,
My strabismus has caused discomfort for me also. Since my surgery, the physical discomfort caused by strabismus has been much less. But there have been other problems.
Before surgery, when the tension and spastic movements of my eyes was so uncomfortable, I especially noticed how vision therapy relieved them. The relief only lasted a few hours, though. The vision therapy at home did not provide as much relief as using some of the programs and special equipment available in my sessions with my Optometrist.
Also getting plenty of rest helps.