I have a "lazy" left eye as a result of an injury which occurred 20 years ago. The eye points laterally. I have noticed that I can, by concentrating/focusing on a nearby object, bring the images from my two eyes together. Of course, when I do this, the focus from my good (right) eye on distant objects is lost.
Is it conceivable that by "practicing" holding my eyes in alignment that they would eventually be able to stay that way (i.e., tracking together) and that I could go back to focusing normally with my good eye?
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Answered by Richard E. Gans, M. D. (xx102@ofcn.org)
It is unlikely that excercising your eye will cause it to straighten. Usually, an eye turns outward with time when the eye has limited vision or when the muscles of the eye are not working properly. The "motivation" for eyes to say aligned is the brain's ability to fuse the images from the two eyes. If one eye sees poorly, the brain cannot fuse the images and the eye with limited vision tends to drift outward. Even if one were to conciously try to bring the eye into alignment, poor vision in the one eye would cause it to drift again with time.
As an eye turns outward, the muscles that control eye movement start to stretch or scar. Early on, injections of a particular medication into the eye muscle can help to realign the eye. Eventually, the only way to realign the eye is with surgery. The surgery is designed to strengthen or weaken the appropriate muscles to rotate the eye into position. Even with surgery, however, the eye will drift again with time if the vision is not equal in each eye.
The reason why focusing "up close" helps to bring the eye into alignment relates to a process called accomodation. Accomodation is the process that allows the eye to focus over a range of distances. Muscles inside the eye pull and relax to change the shape of the lens during accomodation. The muscles outside the eye that pull the eyes inward are connected to this process so that when you look at something close to you, your eyes both converge as they are focusing. In your case, when you try to focus on a near object, you are using accomodation to pull your "drifting" eye inward.
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Copyright, 1994. Richard E. Gans, M.D.
A RICHARD E. GANS, M.D. 11
A A OFCN Primary Sysop, The Eye Clinic 111
AAAAA xx102@ofcn.org 11
A A A C A D E M Y O N E 1111
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