Medical Myth Exposed: “Children outgrow crossed or misaligned eyes”
False. Children do not outgrow crossed eyes. A child whose eyes are misaligned may develop poor vision in one eye because the brain will “turn off” or ignore the image from the misaligned or lazy eye. The unused or misaligned eye will not develop good vision unless it is forced to work, usually by patching the stronger eye.
Children who appear to have misaligned eyes should be examined by an ophthalmologist. In general, the earlier the misaligned eyes are treated, the better. Treatment may include patching, eyeglasses, eye drops, surgery, or a combination of these methods.
