Squint is treatable, delay hampers vision
Squint, which is also known as cross eye is a sign of fortune — the popular myth still prevails in many parts of Bangladesh and people take it for granted. Many people have the misconception that squint is not cured by medical treatment or if so, it might be expensive. These fallacies hold back people from seeking medical treatment that lead to vision impairment (sometimes even blindness), social insult, refusal of marriage proposal and so on. Ultimately, keeping the squint eye wrapped with fake fortune brings misfortune for the entire family. Squint — a condition in which eyes are not looking into the same direction — may be present since birth or develop within the first six months of life (called congenital squint). Although the cause is not always known, sometimes it runs in families and in certain cases, it develops in course of childhood due to disorders of the eye like long-sightedness, weakness of the eye muscles, brain or nerves diseases like cerebral palsy, brain injury or tumor. Congenital squint needs to be treated within two years of birth to get the best functional vision outcome. Another potential complication of squint is Amblyopia, also called lazy eye where the vision is poor due to lack of use of the eye. If Amblyopia is not treated before the age of about seven years, the visual impairment usually remains permanent. Dr Khair Ahmed Choudhury, a WHO Fellow of Paediatric Ophthalmology and Squint and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College said that treatment of squint varies from simple eye glasses to safe surgery depending on the type. In most of the cases, it can be treated with simple glasses, occlusion therapy and exercise. Surgery is usually performed for cosmetic purpose and may help to restore binocular vision in some cases. He urged parents taking their child with squint to an ophthalmologist at early stage to protect vision and increase self esteem. The number of skilled ophthalmologists to treat squint is extremely low in Bangladesh. National Institute of Ophthalmology (NIO), Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital at government level, Islamia Eye Hospital and Chittagong Eye Infirmary and Training Complex at private level are the few super-specilised centres to deal with squint at very low cost. Child Sight Foundation (CSF), a non-profit organisation is also providing the surgery to the poor children at free of cost at its hospital named Wahida Matin Memorial Child Vision Centre in Dhaka. E-mail: rajib.hossain@thedailystar.net
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