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An eye turn happens when the two eyes do not point in the same direction.
One eye may look straight ahead while the other eye turns in, turns out, moves up, or moves down.
The clinical name for an eye turn is strabismus. Some people also call it crossed eyes, a squint, or a drifting eye.
At Innovative Eye Care, we assess eye turns in children and adults at our Adelaide and Henley Beach practices. We check how clearly each eye sees, how the eyes work together, whether glasses are needed, and whether the eye turn is affecting daily life.
An eye turn means the eyes are not lined up properly.
It may happen all the time, or it may only appear sometimes. For example, you may only notice it when a child is tired, unwell, concentrating, looking at something up close, or looking far away.
In children, an eye turn can affect how vision develops. If the brain starts to rely more on one eye, the other eye may not develop clear vision. This is called a lazy eye, or amblyopia.1
In adults, a new eye turn can cause double vision because each eye is sending a different image to the brain. This can make reading, driving, walking, working, and sport difficult.2
You may notice:
A child may not complain, even when an eye turn is present. This is because children can sometimes ignore the image from one eye to avoid double vision.
Some eye turns are constant. Others come and go. Some are worse when looking up close. Others are worse when looking far away.
A detailed eye test helps us understand the type of eye turn and what may be causing it.
Eye turns are not rare in children.
An Australian study of 6-year-old children found that about 3 in every 100 children had an eye turn.3
Children need both eyes working together to develop clear, comfortable vision. When one eye turns, the brain may start to favour the straighter eye. Over time, this can reduce vision in the turned eye. This is called a lazy eye.
Another Australian study found that about 2 in every 100 preschool children had a lazy eye. The study found that a lazy eye was more likely when a child had an eye turn, a high prescription, or a large prescription difference between the two eyes.1
This is why children with a suspected eye turn should have a comprehensive eye test. Early assessment gives us the best chance of supporting clear vision, comfortable eye teaming, and normal visual development.
Adults can also develop an eye turn.
This may happen because of:
A new eye turn in an adult often causes double vision. This can be frustrating and can affect driving, walking, work, reading, and confidence.
A sudden eye turn or new double vision in an adult should be assessed promptly. In some cases, we may need to refer for medical testing.
At Innovative Eye Care, an eye turn assessment may include:
For children, we also consider how vision may affect school, reading, concentration, sport, and confidence.
Learn more about Eye Exams
An eye turn can have many causes.
Common causes include:
In some children, long-sightedness can cause an inward eye turn. This happens because the child has to focus strongly to see clearly. That focusing effort can pull the eyes inward.
In these cases, glasses can often help by reducing the focusing effort.
Treatment depends on the cause, the size of the eye turn, how often it happens, the person’s age, symptoms, and whether a lazy eye is present.
Treatment may include:
Glasses can help some eye turns, especially when the eye turn is linked to long-sightedness or a focusing problem.
If one eye has weaker vision, patching may help strengthen the weaker eye.
Patching usually involves covering the stronger eye for a set time each day. This encourages the brain to use the weaker eye.
Large clinical trials have shown that patching can improve vision in children with a lazy eye.4
Vision training may help some eye teaming problems. It is most useful when the eyes have trouble working together, rather than when there is a large constant eye turn.
Learn more about Vision Training
Prism lenses can help some people with double vision or eye alignment symptoms.
A prism changes where the image sits, which can make it easier for the brain to join the two images together.
Some people may benefit from digital or virtual reality-based vision therapy. This depends on the diagnosis, age, symptoms, and treatment goals.
Learn more about AmblyoPlay
Some eye turns need assessment by an ophthalmologist.
Eye muscle surgery may be considered when glasses, patching, prism, or vision training are not enough. Surgery aims to improve eye alignment. It may also help with double vision, comfort, appearance, and confidence.
Our role is to assess the eye turn, explain the findings clearly, provide treatment where appropriate, and refer when specialist care is needed.
Not every eye turn needs immediate treatment.
Some intermittent eye turns can be monitored if vision is developing well, symptoms are mild, and control is stable.
One study followed children aged 3 to 10 years with an intermittent outward eye turn. Over 3 years, most children did not get significantly worse when surgery was not considered immediately necessary.5
This does not mean eye turns should be ignored. It means the best plan depends on the child, the type of eye turn, symptoms, vision, and eye teaming.
Book an eye turn assessment if:
An eye turn and a lazy eye are related, but they are not the same thing.
An eye turn means the eyes are not pointing in the same direction.
A lazy eye means one eye has reduced vision because the brain has not developed clear vision from that eye.
A child can have an eye turn without a lazy eye.
A child can also have a lazy eye without an obvious eye turn.
This is why a full children’s eye test is important.
Learn more about Amblyopia
Innovative Eye Care provides eye turn assessments for children and adults in Adelaide and Henley Beach.
We assess how clearly each eye sees, whether glasses are needed, how the eyes line up, how the eyes work together, and whether the eye turn is affecting daily life.
We then explain the results in clear language and discuss the most appropriate treatment or referral options.
Book your appointment now for personalised eye care tailored just for you.