At The London Clinic Eye Centre, our team of highly skilled ophthalmologists have extensive experience in various eye conditions, including squints, helping us to deliver exceptional and comprehensive eye care and the best possible treatment outcomes.Only adult patients (over 18 years of age) can be seen and treated at The London Clinic Eye Centre, but our ophthalmologists specialising in this problem do see children elsewhere.
Squint treatment
Also known as: strabismus treatment
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What is it for?
Treating strabismus through a range of methods tailored to your needs
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What is strabismus?
A squint, otherwise known as strabismus, is a condition in which one eye points straight ahead while the other turns inwards or outwards or looks up or down. In other words, one eye is turned in a different direction to the other eye, so they are not looking at the same object at the same time.
Because both eyes must aim at the same spot together to see properly, strabismus can have a significant effect on vision. In addition, the condition can cause symptoms and further complications, including double vision, headaches, eye strain, and a lazy eye.
Strabismus is classified by the direction in which the eye is turned:
- Esotropia – inward turning
- Exotropia – outward turning
- Hypertropia – upward turning
- Hypotropia – downward turning
Strabismus is relatively common in children, affecting around one in 20, but it can also affect adults, either because of a squint from childhood causing further problems, or it can be of new onset, often causing difficulties with double vision and eye strain.
Squint treatments:
There are a variety of treatment options for strabismus, depending on the type of squint you have and the underlying cause.
Prism lenses
These are special lenses that can bend the light entering the eye to reduce the eye’s misdirection. They are often very helpful for people with double vision and relatively small squints, and can completely ‘cure’ the double vision, although the glasses will continue to need to be worn.
Vision therapy or orthoptic exercises
Some types of strabismus such as convergence insufficiency (double vision for close-up reading) can be improved with exercises to be done at home.
Your ophthalmologist will decide on the most appropriate type of vision therapy or orthoptic exercises treatment and the orthoptist will usually supervise these and give you follow-up appointments.
Botox injections
The doctor may prescribe Botox (botulinum toxin) injections to weaken the overacting eye muscle and cause the eye to turn back towards a normal position. These injections are performed at The London Clinic Eye Centre, usually just with local anaesthetic eye drops, as an outpatient procedure.
Sometimes the treatment is a one-off to assess whether you would benefit from surgery or if only a temporary benefit is needed (as it usually wears off over a few months), sometimes it is repeated for longer-term treatment.
Medications
Some types of strabismus benefit from medical treatment, such as for those with double vision due to thyroid eye disease or myasthenia gravis, both autoimmune diseases.
Your ophthalmologist will often co-manage your condition with another specialist, such as an endocrinologist for thyroid problems or a neurologist for myasthenia.
Squint surgery
Squint surgery repositions the muscles around the eyeball to make the misdirected eye point in the same direction as the other eye.
It is usually performed under general anaesthetic at The London Clinic but doesn’t need an overnight stay as you will be able to go home a few hours after surgery (with someone escorting you).
Squint surgery usually takes 30 to 60 minutes, depending on the complexity of the surgery.
During the procedure, the lining of the eyeball (the conjunctiva) is opened up slightly to enable the surgeon to gain access to the muscles that hold the eyeball in place. The muscle(s) may be weakened or tightened by moving where they are inserted into the eyeball. Adults often have surgery with adjustable stitches, which means when you wake up the surgeon can test the eye position and, if needed, can alter the eye position (numbing the eye with local anaesthetic eye drops) to make the alignment perfect.
This is relatively minor surgery, and recovery time is quick – the eye(s) feel quite scratchy for a day or two and while a week off work is often recommended, you are able to do most things including reading/screens the day after surgery. The white of the eye is often red for some weeks after the operation, but usually settles so that no one can tell you have had surgery.
Generally, one follow-up appointment is needed with the orthoptist and ophthalmologist.
Only adults (over age of 18) with strabismus are treated by the consultants at The London Clinic Eye Centre. Children who have been assessed by our specialist consultants are treated elsewhere.
Glasses or contact lenses
If your child has refractive errors that are causing their strabismus, often long-sightedness, corrective lenses may help their eyes to straighten, as they’ll need to make less effort to focus.
If your child’s strabismus is caused by refractive errors, this may be the only treatment they’ll need. However, they’ll need to continue using corrective lenses moving forward.
Eye patches or Atropine eye drops
If your child’s strabismus causes a lazy eye (by which we mean even with glasses the eyesight is still not normal in one eye as the brain is suppressing this eye), placing a patch over the other eye can force the connections between the lazy eye and the brain to rebuild.
Your child would usually wear the eye patch for two to six hours per day until the lazy eye begins to work again.
This is not an invasive form of treatment but it is important to monitor the vision and the orthoptist will usually do this.
An alternative to patching is Atropine eye drops (generally used twice a week in the better eye to slightly blur it) and this would be prescribed by the ophthalmologist with orthoptic follow up to determine when to stop treatment.
How is squint diagnosed?
Strabismus (squint) is diagnosed through a thorough eye examination by an ophthalmologist, often supported by an orthoptic assessment. Orthoptists specialise in measuring vision and assessing eye position and movements.
For adults with new-onset strabismus, it’s important to rule out serious causes such as brain tumours or autoimmune conditions like thyroid eye disease or myasthenia gravis.
Your assessment may include: medical and family history, onset of symptoms, visual acuity testing, refraction, pupil dilation, MRI brain scan, and blood tests to check for underlying causes.
At The London Clinic Eye Centre, our orthoptist, Liz Tomlin, provides expert diagnosis and management for squint.
Our experts
We offer Fixed Price Packages
Where possible, we’ll provide a fixed-price package for your hospital care. This covers your hospital stay, nursing, and use of our facilities, giving you a clear guide to what those costs will be.
- Pre-op assessment
- Hospital stay, nursing care and meals
- Tests, scans and physio during your stay
- Take-home medication (up to 5 days)
- Post-op follow-up appointments
- Standard equipment or prosthesis (if needed)
- Unplanned extended stay or ITU (if clinically required)
- Initial consultation and any tests done during it
- Consultant and anaesthetist fees (quoted separately)
- Physio or therapy before or after your stay
- Diagnostics before admission (unless agreed in your plan)
- Specialist medication beyond 5 days
- Ambulance transport or bespoke prosthetics
Your consultant’s fees are quoted separately and shared directly by their office after your consultation. These professional fees cover the time, expertise, and care provided by your consultant before, during, and after your treatment. See our full terms and conditions
Why choose The London Clinic Eye Centre?
The London Clinic Eye Centre provides the highest standards of eye care. Our team of expert ophthalmologists work in partnership with world leaders and experts from all aspects of medicine, combining state-of-the-art diagnostics with cutting-edge therapies to deliver a best-in-class service to a global audience.
Unparalleled eye expertise
Our ophthalmologists bring global experience across the full range of eye conditions, supported by advanced imaging and The London Clinic’s world-class facilities.
With you at every step
From your first appointment to follow-up, our clinicians, nurses and support teams provide coordinated, bespoke care so you always feel confident and supported.
Personal care, every time
We tailor your care around your individual needs, staying with you throughout your journey and ensuring you feel listened to and supported.
Speak to our team
Whether you’re seeking a diagnosis, treatment or a specialist opinion, our Eye Centre team is here to help. Find out more about how we can support your eye health.
0% Finance Options
We’ve teamed up with Chrysalis to offer you funding options that allow you to spread the cost of your treatment.
If you choose to pay for your treatment at The London Clinic over 12 months, you can make use of a great 0% interest option and pay nothing extra. Or you can choose to pay over two to five years at 14.9% APR.
Trustees of the London Clinic Ltd trading as The London Clinic is an Appointed Representative of Chrysalis Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The London Clinic is a credit broker, not a lender. The provider of a payment scheme which is not offered through or by Chrysalis Finance Limited may not be so authorised and regulated. Cancer treatments or transplants aren’t covered by finance packages. Finance options are only available for UK patients.