Does squint require urgent treatment?
The reason that squint might require urgent treatment is because if it presents suddenly with diplopia that’s very distressing. And if you have double vision, you can’t function normally. So you can’t judge distances, you can’t drive, you can’t even walk carefully down steps because you are seeing two of everything.
So in those circumstances, we would need to see a patient urgently so we can assess them and resolve the double vision. Most commonly, what we are doing in those circumstances is to put some temporary prisms on the glasses, called Fresnel prisms, and by doing that we can control that diplopia, that is double vision, to give us time to investigate and work out a definitive treatment.
More about Robert Morris
Rob Morris is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at The Grange Eye Consultants. His special expertise is in cataract and refractive surgery, including Refractive Lens Exchange, and adult squint. He has over 30 years experience in treating people with eye problems. Rob Morris founded Grange Eye Consultants to manage the increasing demand for more complex refractive surgery. He leads clinical trials investigating novel eye treatments. He is currently Medical Director at Optegra Eye Hospitals.