STRABISMUS IN GENERAL PRACTICE.

Considerable confusion exists concerning the time at which a cross-eyed child should be referred to an ophthalmologist. This referral should be made between six and nine months because visual and muscular coordinated reflexes necessary for normal vision and stereopsis develop at six months, and 80% of these reflexes are established by the age of two. Normal anatomical relations must be established shortly after six months to avoid the formation of fixed, irreversible, abnormal reflexes which lead to loss of vision in one eye and lack of stereopsis.The recommended classification of crossed eyes emphasizes the insidious divergent type that must be treated in infancy.Reasons for delay in referring cross-eyed children include incorrect advice from the family doctor and inappropriate advice from optometrists. Treatment is aimed at the development of normal vision in each eye, stereopsis, and a good cosmetic result.