Understanding Eye Movement Disorders: Strabismus, Exophoria & Hypertropia

Strabismus, which is a family of eye movement disorders, occurs most often in children, but does appear in adults either as a new condition or as a result of not treating the disorder that presented itself in childhood.

Exophoria

• Exophoria is a horizontal eye movement disorder characterized by a divergence of the eyes, or pulling out. When both focus on an object, divergence is not present, but when one eye is covered, the covered eye pulls outward.

Hypertropia

• Hypertropia is a vertical eye movement disorder where one eye pulls upward, caused by the superior oblique muscle pulling upward inappropriately.

Hypotropia

• Hypotropia is a vertical eye movement disorder where one eye pulls downward, caused by the inferior oblique muscle pulling downward inappropriately.

Esotropia

• Esotropia is a horizontal eye movement disorder where the eye turns inward, but aligns normally when the unaffected eye is covered.

Exotropia

• Exotropia is a horizontal eye movement disorder where the eye turns outward, but aligns normally when the unaffected eye is covered.

Treatment

• Treatment for these disorders includes using glasses, weakening or strengthening the eye muscles through surgery or using eye patches to correct the misalignment.