Squints

Types of squint

• Infant squint or congenital squint

  A squint in babies is called a congenital squint or infantile squint. Some babies are born with a squint. It may not be immediately obvious. 

  Infant squints are more common in families who have a history of needing glasses or having squints.

• Divergent squint or intermittent exotropia

  A divergent squint is also known as intermittent exotropia. It's a squint that shows when your child is daydreaming, tired or looking into the distance. Your child's eyes will appear straight when reading or looking at something up close. 

  If your child has a divergent squint they may also have:

  • headaches
  • blurry vision
  • double vision
  • close one eye in bright sunlight

  If you are concerned about your child's eyes getting worse, contact the Orthopist. 

• Fake squint or pseudo squint

  Some children can have the appearance of a squint while having completely straight eyes.

  A fake squint can be caused by:

  • the shape of your child's face
  • eyes being close together
  • eyelids are different shapes or sizes
  • the bridge of the nose is covering the inner corners of the eye

  An orthoptist will examine your child's vision, eye muscle movements and 3D vision (depth perception). The orthoptist will tell you if your child has a fake squint. 

  They will recommend a full eye test by an optometrist who will check the health of your child's eye. They will also check to see if your child needs glasses.

  It’s important that your child has their vision screened in school when aged 4 to 5 years as part of the school vision screening programme. After this you should take your child to their opticians from 6 years old every year to have an eye check. These eye checks are free until your child is 16 years old.