hello

I have a question concerning my eyes. Im a 21 year old male and i have been having this problem for about a year now. when i look in the mirrors or when other people look at me they dont notice anything wrong with my eyes. but when i take a photograph it looks like i have a lazy eye or wandering eye. every photograph i come out looking like i have misaligned eyes and one ye is bigger than the other. but in person or mirrors they look fine. this only has happened for a year now. before i looked fine in photos as well. what does this mean? do i have strabismus? any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you

mike

Mike-

It is possible to have strabismus only at distance or only at near point or both. You do not mention if you wear contacts or glasses, but it may be that you need a new rx. If you haven't worn them in the past and its been a while since your last eye exam, you may need them now. You need to see an ophthamologist. Normally I would say to book an appointment with a pediatric ophthamologist who works with adults with strabismus, but getting in to see one of them can take a while. Since you aren't positive that you have strabismus,it may be easier to see a general ophthamologist and get a referal if it is needed.

Hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by Shaman (edited 12-21-2002).]

I think that it is just the pictures, because if the camera and your body angle is not right, it might catch more white in the picture. I don't believe i would worry about it I have alot of pictures like that.
good luck

I have the same problem. Except that my eyes are of the same size. But one eyes gets cross-eyed especially when I wear glasses. I went to two different optometrists they all told me I don't have amblyopia (spelling?) but my eye muscle is weak and there's nothing wrong with it. However, I can correct it by having a surgery where they cut the muscle (its mainly for cosmetic purpose only so my eye doesn't look strange) or by exercising my weak eye (by taping the stronger eye) but they said maybe this cannot be corrected this way. SO i am confused. :/ Anyway Good luck to you.

yea i mite have weak eye muscle. do you know how much this operation would cost?

Mushb00m-

I can understand why you might be confused. Strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) and amblyopia (vision loss in one eye) are two different conditions, but since they often occur together, people get confused.

Taping over the stronger eye to force the weaker eye to work is the treatment of choice for amblyopia. Since you were told you do not have amblyopia, I don't think it would positively affect your situation. However Vision Therapy or VT might help. I suggest that you do a search for "Merrill Bowan" and check out his site. You can find a optometrist who does VT and talk to them about your situation. You need to find someone who has done tons of work with strabismus patients, and ask them if they think VT will help. Strabismus is NOT caused by weak eye muscles. Strabismus is actually a BRAIN problem. VT does not strengthen your eye muscles, but instead works to retrain your brain to use your eyes together. It works better for some people better than others, but is worth exploring. I would never encourage anyone to have strabismus repair surgery without at least considering VT first.

If you wish to explore surgery then you need to find a board certified pediatric ophthmologist who also works with adults with strabismus. Do a search for American Association for Pediatric Ophthamology and Strabismus (AAPOS for short). You should be able to find a list of ophthamologists around the world who have experience working with patients with strabismus. Please note that not everyone is a candidate for surgery, and surgery comes with risk. Consider your options carefully before you choose.

Hope this helps

BGEAR121-

You need to be seen by a pediatric ophthamologist who also works with adults with strabismus. See my post to Mushb00m for help on finding a Dr.

As to the cost of surgery, depending on where you live, complexity of case etc. it can range from around $7,000-$12,000. However, strabismus repair is reconstructive NOT cosmetic and should be covered by insurance. You need to talk to your PCP about a referral to the proper specialist and go from there.

Weigh the POSSIBLE benefits of the surgery against the very real risks before you make your choice. I've had the surgery and it wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

Good luck.

I, at 30yo, have been having the same problem when taking pictures, and there's nothing otherwise wrong with my eye. For me, it's just for some reason or other my left eye tends to water and squint more from the flash. I don't know why I never had that problem before and I do now, but my daughter who *does* have a lazy eye looks perfectly normal in pictures where as I look like the one with a turn and a squint... go figure.