It is common for young children to have an appearance of a squint when actually their eyes are straight and working together normally. This is often because young children have a flat bridge to their nose which results in wider than average skin folds across the inner parts of the eye. This is known as epicanthus. Seeing less of the white of the eye (sclera) makes it look like a child is squinting especially when they are not looking straight ahead. This is called pseudosquint (pseudostrabismus).
Parents of children who have pseudosquint due to a wide nasal bridge, usually find that this becomes less noticeable as time passes and the child grows. Audit of similar children in Leeds* has shown that if the orthoptist did not see a child squint at the first visit, there is less than a 3% chance of them going on to develop a squint in the future.
If after, 6 – 12 months, you continue to see your child squint, especially if you begin to see it more frequently, you should ask your GP to refer you back to the Orthoptist in Eye Clinic. We are more than happy to see you again if you continue to have concerns.
Vision testing for this age group of children is very difficult and is not always reliable; therefore, we cannot be absolutely certain that your child is seeing perfectly with both eyes. We have not undertaken a formal glasses test.
All children who live in Leeds receive a distance vision test as they start school at the age of 4 – 5 years. Audit has shown that your child has the same chance of being referred from vision screening as any other child in the class.
If you are concerned about your child’s sight before this age, please contact your GP to arrange another referral to the Eye Clinic. Vision testing becomes more reliable around the time a child begins to talk and can name pictures i.e. from 2 – 3 years of age.
An optician can also monitor your child’s vision and do a test for glasses. This is free whilst your child is in full time education until the age of 19.
*Pseudosquint Audit 2013: Between 1.4 and 2.4% of those children who were not seen to squint on the first visit to the orthoptist (but whose parents thought the child had an inward turning squint or thought the eyes were not moving together), were later found to have a squint.
If you have any further questions / concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Orthoptic and Children’s Eye Clinic
St. James’s University Hospital
