Hereditary strabismus
El squint It is an alteration of binocular vision in which the deviation of the axes prevents the eyes from being able to focus on the same point simultaneously. This binocular condition es more common in children and it usually manifests during the first months of life, for this reason many people wonder if strabismus runs in families.
The causes of strabismus are varied. In some cases, it is difficult to determine the exact origin of the disease, since the patient presents a combination of multiple factors. The truth is the hereditary factor plays a very important role, although not decisive, among the causes of strabismus.
Hereditary strabismus
El squint It is an alteration of binocular vision in which the deviation of the axes prevents the eyes from being able to focus on the same point simultaneously. This binocular condition es more common in children and it usually manifests during the first months of life, for this reason many people wonder if strabismus runs in families.
The causes of strabismus are varied. In some cases, it is difficult to determine the exact origin of the disease, since the patient presents a combination of multiple factors. The truth is the hereditary factor plays a very important role, although not decisive, among the causes of strabismus.
Is strabismus inherited?
Many of the strabismus cases are hereditary. However, the exact cause of the disease cannot always be detected. deviation of eye axes, because there are several factors that lead to the disease.
Therefore, it is incorrect to affirm that the children of parents with strabismus will suffer from this disease.
Strabismus is considered hereditary because the genetic factor supposes a predisposition to the disease, as well as other series of conditions like infections, suffering during the development of the fetus, tumors or emotional disorders. The fact that there are many cases of strabismus in a family does not mean that all the individuals that make it up will suffer from strabismus, or will suffer from the same type of visual deviation.
Risk factors for developing strabismus
The hereditary factor is not the only one that can cause strabismus. There are other agents that can make a person prone to developing this disease, let us know what they are:
Factors acquired
- Tobacco use during pregnancy: Most children with strabismus have mothers who smoked tobacco during the gestation period.
- Alcohol during pregnancy: Alcohol is a very dangerous substance for the correct development of the fetus. The consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with fetal alcohol syndrome and the development of other complications such as strabismus.
- Premature birth: A child is more likely to develop strabismus if he is born with a low body weight or premature.
- Neonatal complications: jaundice, respiratory diseases and infections are complications that can affect the brain system and consequently alter the muscular system of the eyes. 60% of children with problems in brain development suffer from strabismus.
- anisometropia: The difference of optical graduation between one eye and another is a significant risk factor for strabismus. Anisometropia causes the image that is formed in one eye to be different in size from the one that is formed in the other. This prevents the brain from joining them correctly, affects binocular vision and consequently the alignment of the two eyes.
- Farsightedness: the hyperopia in children is a refractive defect that causes blurred vision at close range. Hyperopia is associated with convergent strabismus, type of squint in which the affected eye deviates inward. In most cases, correcting the refractive error corrects the strabismus.
Genetic factors
Genetic factors play a very important role in hereditary transmission of various diseases, and strabismus is no exception. There are not a few scientific studies that show that the children of parents with strabismus are 4 times more likely to suffer this alteration than a child with no family history of strabismus.
It is also important to highlight that if the first child of parents with strabismus is born with said ocular deviation, his brothers will have twice the risk of suffering from this condition. Also, in 80% of cases, the type of strabismus inherited is the same.
Despite that genetics is a major risk factor, in most cases of congenital strabismus It presents with a combination of genetic and acquired causes, therefore strabismus is almost always polygenic.
What do I do if there is a history of strabismus in my family?
For many parents, having suffered strabismus represents an important concern when they decide to have children. Although this fear is fully understandable, it is important to adopt rational thinking and be very clear that the genetic component is not a determining factor for the inheritance of the disease.
Strabismus is a hereditary condition and this fact must be kept in mind. The best decision parents can make is to monitor the evolution of the child's visual development., attend medical check-ups promptly and carry out ophthalmological reviews At least once a year.
Many parents are unaware that children's eye and visual health can and should be examined from the moment of birth, leading to the diagnosis and correction of strabismus earlier.
In conclusion, we can affirm that strabismus is a hereditary disease, but that it is almost always polygenic. Therefore, in Área Oftalmológica Avanzada We suggest that all future parents with a history of strabismus avoid any factor acquired during pregnancy to decrease the risk of the baby being born with visual deviation.
Likewise, it is important to highlight that today there are very successful ways of treating and correct strabismus permanently. If you want to know them, do not hesitate to contact us.
