Can alternating esotropia damage vision in my weaker eye?
FEB 23, 2016
Question:
Can alternating esotropia damage vision in my weaker eye? It seems that the vision in my left eye has gotten progressively worse over the last few years, while the vision in my right (and dominant) eye is relatively unchanged.
Answer:
Esotropia is crossing of the eyes. Alternating esotropia implies that both eyes can be used one at a time. Typically if the esotropia is alternating between both eyes, you are likely to have good vision in each eye. In patients over the age of 10 years it is very unusual for a patient to lose vision from the strabismus (esotropia), termed lazy eye or amblyopia. If you think you are losing vision you should have a thorough exam and refraction test (to measure whether you need glasses), because often this is associated with farsightedness.