Squints

Who’s got one?

I’ve had one all my life, I had a couple of ops when I was very small, maybe 4 I think, and it was barely noticeable. But the last ten years it has come back , more and more which I find a bit disconcerting. I’m not bothered by how it looks, only if it will cause trouble

Any squintists have any advice?

My cat buddy Marcus Aurelius. Almost certainly because of some Siamese heritage. It’s generally considered to be quite a cute look. It certainly doesn’t affect his ability to catch objects, his reactions are spectacularly fast.

It seems to vary depending on the time of day.

Op aged 3, now 39. Mine never fully resolved and is definitely worse if I’m tired. The optician advised that retraining the eye as an adult is hard, and only really to consider an op if it is a significant cosmetic issue. Personally I’m not bothered – it’s part of who I am. And it is probably a good reminder to rest.

Have it, hate it. The one thing out of many possibles I’d change about myself if I could.

I ended up with one after hyper-thyroidism, Graves eye disease. I’ve got double vision with it, awaiting an op. T’is shit, I have to wear an eye patch to see straight.

I have full lazy eye on the squint side so don’t see with it, or at least my brain cuts it out. If I cover the good eye I can see with it, albeit blurry

I don’t get double vision although I can get some curious effects if I look in certain directions

Thing is with me, both eyes “work” fine individually, just not together. Apparently I have scar tissue from the Graves in my eye muscles, excessively so in one of them. So  they’ll pop ’em out, cut away the scar tissue and that should allow them to work in tandem again. Can’t wait…

@brian I had a correction for Graves related eye disease in November.  I won’t lie to you it was painful and I struggled to do much other than lie on the sofa listening to the radio for a few weeks.  However, the surgeon did a cracking job and while having all the stitches on the inside of the eyelid is **** painful, once it healed it was a massive improvement and totally pain free.

I wish you the best of luck and I’m sure it will be worth it for you.

My squint seems to be seasonal. Triggered by sunlight?

I was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis last year, (CT/ MRI scans and presence of antibodies). Nothing malign affecting the thymus, just the Scottish summer!!!

Resumed steroids until it resolves in the autumn.

As far as autoimmune conditions go, I guess that I landed on one of the more favourable sides of the dice.

Only annoying at the moment, as it’s either double vision or wearing an eye patch and bumping into things.

I doubt that my neurologist would concur, but from my last excursion to Amsterdam, the condition seems to be positively and negatively affected by particular strains of cannabis.

The ‘Cali’ seems like the bomb, though at 25 euros per gram, I’d bloody expect it:)

Peeps who are seeing double vision, how does it manifest itself – do you see actually 2 of everything or a sort of overlap?

My double vision isn’t side to side, but at diagonals.

greatbeardedone that is interesting, I think if i didnt have the lazy eye i would be the same – when i close my good eye everything shifts diagonally upwards

With my vision, the exact pattern (side to side, or disgonal), is merely a reflection of the specific nerves that are affected.

What is really unusual is what happens when the condition starts.

Usually when we close our eyes, we see patterns and stuff as the nerves to the eye fire off.

With this, it’s like watching a river in spate, very detailed and subdivided into distinct, but interlocking cubes.

Maybe when eye transplants become a reality, it’s possible to trigger the nerves back to life by directing specific frequencies of sunlight at the eyes or pineal gland.

@timidwheeler thank you for the reassurance and good wishes.

@kormoran mine is a second “ghost image” upwards to the right  often overlaid. I’ve learned to more or less ignore the 2nd image, but it’s always there. Looking down is a challenge   I often step off curbs without seeing them, that’s a jolt. Walking or cycling under low branches is a bugger, as is hitting my head off head height cupboards etc.

Make yourself go slightly cross eyed….that’s roughly what it’s like all the time (for those unaffected).

@brian2 that is pretty interesting, thanks. I don’t experience anything like that, in fact my vision feels ‘normal’ despite only using one eye. Although if i close or block my good eye, my experience sounds similar – to me it feels like i am seeing from outside my head, and nothing is where I think it is. I can’t really walk or navigate with it, all depth perception is gone along with my positioning.

Should have added, if I focus on the 2nd image, the one generated by my weaker eye, I can see that perfectly and with more colour. Imagine looking at a TV in the middle of a wall (dominant eye image) then focusing on the 2nd image. This would be towards the top right corner of the wall and on a slight downward tilt. However…with a patch, I can drive; medically endorsed and dvla approved. Plus with absolute confidence. Depth perception took a while to adjust  but the brain is astonishing.

Sorry, I’m responding to this during ad breaks in F1, it deserves more attention. Back later.

I have alternating squint meaning I use both eyes, with 20/20 in each, just not at the same time.

Had my 4th op this year at 40, mainly for cosmetic reasons but the switching between eyes was making close up work annoying. It might be worth getting a referral to at least discuss your options.

I’m under possibly the best technicians in the world, RVI Newcastle. I have an appointment with the Pediatric surgeon next week, but I’m under no illusion that the kids come first. And so it should be.

If you haven’t already got one. Consider a trial audible account for the recovery period.

Same as kormoran here; effectively monocular vision, very limited to nil depth perception but as I have always been this way, the brain has adapted to increase spatial and positional awareness in other ways.

I used to crash a lot and trying to time bunny hops over water bars is a challenge.

Doesn’t stop me from enjoying all sorts of riding.

it is fascinating to read how other people are affected by squints, it often feels like you are making stuff up when you tell people what is going on

Monocular vision is pretty much how I see, I have been riding off road since I could ride a bike as we lived by woods so I seem to have good enough awareness. The only time I am screwed is if I get a fly or similar in my good eye. Have to stop immediately.

I have been pondering lately if I see in 3d, I have never been able to see those posters that jump out at you, and I wondered if it was to do with my lazy eye. 3D films obviously seem a bit pointless too! From that I wondered whether reality looks different to what i’m seeing

All said, I can still make my eyes vibrate:)

Had mine “corrected ” as a kiddo with eyepatches.

Still there, and is noticeable when I’m very tired, or rather drunk.

Had a very obvious one as a child, corrected via surgery at age 8 (after trying patches), then again at 21. I can still see it if I look in a mirror but other people say they can’t. The degree depends on whether I’m looking up or down (called “A pattern strabismus”). Could have it corrected again but would require simultaneous surgery on both eyes which I wasn’t keen on, and I don’t think my loss of income insurance would have paid out if it hadn’t gone to plan.

Can’t do magic eye puzzles or stereograms, and I don’t particularly enjoy parking a car in a tight space without sensors. Can’t catch anything thrown to me either, but that could just be because I’m genetically crap at ball games. Basically the operation should have been done much earlier in order to keep stereopsis, but the patching ensured 20/20 in both eyes.

However it doesn’t stop me having an unrestricted medical from the CAA. Only other advantage that I can think of is that I can choose which eye is dominant, and I think my field of vision is marginally wider than average.

Other than that it’s not something I’d wish on anybody and I went to a lot of effort to get our private medical provider at work to recategorise the operation as reconstructive surgery as opposed to cosmetic (which wasn’t covered). I also have to restrain the urge to punch in the face anyone who uses the phrase “boss-eyed”.

Does anyone remember trying to put the tractor in the barn? Or the parrots in the cage?

Yep, inward when I was a kid, op at about age 4 or 5

Came back as I got older, pretty bad by the time I was a teen and now outward (lazy eye)

Had another corrective op at about age 40 purely cosmetic as it really did cause distress over the years and as a performer and my job (training) when you speak to people and they question if it’s them you’re looking at bloody hurts!

Anyway, day case, comes with risks – might cause double vision etc

Healing was lengthy in that it was bloodshot and swollen for a while and the stitches were uncomfortable for a few weeks but I was really pleased to have it done

If anything it’s now slightly lower but only if you know

Now, after about 5 years I think it’s coming back, not sure as others say not and optician says not

Same as others have said, have ‘primary’ vision with my dodgy eye being more peripheral unless I cover my good eye. Apparently 20/20 in both – just not together!

My Dad was born with a squint. He had an op as a kid and it didn’t work. Then another when he was late 30s… Didn’t work.

Monoscopic vision. No good at ball sports but probably the worst thing for him was no chance of joining the RAF.

He always drove a lot and I remember he did a rally course in Wales once and beat the instructors in the FWD cars so doesn’t affect that.

I have never noticed the squint, never struggle to look at an eye – except when I see his reflection. That’s really weird.

Had another corrective op at about age 40

Is that a thing? Crikey, will look into that – bit older than that but just assumed I was lumbered with it.

My left eye is slightly long sighted, right is short sighted – use the right to read and can read more quickly with my right eye than my left, however that works. Just hate when people think I’m looking at them – if we’re at a restaurant or whatever, I’ll switch eyes to avoid “looking” at someone over Mrs Pondo’s left shoulder. Rubbish at ball sports, ok at frisbee, driving is ok although I’m always cautious manouvering when it comes to judging the front corners or how far back I can go.

Had another corrective op at about age 40

Is that a thing? Crikey, will look into that – bit older than that but just assumed I was lumbered with it.

Yep!  I had a superb optician who made the referral.  I was very open about the effect it had (not physical but emotionally) and how it affected, still does, my confidence

Oh and yes, ‘switching’ eyes – this!!!!

Still have to decide which of the other persons eyes to focus on but at least I’m now looking at their face and not, as you say some random. Completely get this

Seems I have a similar story to many on here, lazy right eye that I had operations on as a kid, eye-patches and a frosted lens on the left eye to encourage it to work to no avail. And great for the self-esteem.

Both eyes technically work but they’re not joined up and I use my left eye 99.9% of the time but if I shut or cover my left eye the right one works perfectly but it quickly starts to hurt. The squint is subtly noticeable to others and it gets worse when I get tired.

I often wonder how much better I’d be at ball sports if I had binocular vision, although it seems my brain can compensate and I’m actually better if I don’t think about it, I also often think if I would be faster through singletrack if the trees weren’t 2D and it wasn’t just down to my lack of talent 🙂 Low evening light strobing through the trees on my left hand side is always a hateful experience.

I’ve mostly learnt to just get on with it and I don’t notice too much of a hinderance, although I used to enjoy shooting and being both left-handed and left-eyed make things awkward with spent cartridges spinning across my face, but that’s a very niche issue. Oh, and centering stems is a bit more hit and miss than both eyed people. Having only one useable eye does save 50% on contact lenses though…

Oh, and centering stems is a bit more hit and miss than both eyed people. Having only one useable eye does save 50% on contact lenses though…

Ha ha, this is totally me. I never feel like my stem is centered. The contacts too, I only buy the most expensive as they’re 50% off all the time!

Being left eye dominant has made me quite ambidextrous, I used to shoot too, left handed by necessity. Empty cases pinging across your face is something id forgotten

I don’t think I’ve got a squint but I do have double vision as a result of nerve palsy which means that when I tilt my head over to the right the 2 images come pretty much together but the further left I tilt the wider apart the images, twisted at about 30 degrees.
Riding over bumpy ground means I have to choose which front wheel needs to go to the side of which big rock. Not a 100% success rate.
As a carpenter I have no idea if something is vertical or horizontal without using a level.

Contact lenses have helped massively – I wear a close-up prescription in the dodgy eye and a distance prescription in the good one so the left eye’s input seems to get ignored for generating the image, but still seems to work for depth perception.

I’m sat now, looking out of my window at a house opposite. Because there’s there’s a vertical window opening right in front of me the part of the roof line I can see through the left appears about 3 metres lower than the part on the right, and it’s sloping down at about 20 degrees.

I was always last pick for football or cricket.

It wasn’t until about 10 years ago that I realised not everybody had this special power. I always wondered why I couldn’t use binoculars though.

Does anyone remember trying to put the tractor in the barn? Or the parrots in the cage?

OMG yes!

Can relate to a lot of the above – re not loving parking, struggling to centre stems/saddles, not being able to do magic eye puzzles etc. My parents were encouraged to get me playing ball sports very early, so I played tennis from a young age and I think that really helped. I do have to teach students how to use binocular microscopes – which is interesting as I use my right eye to look down the left eye piece. As I say to many people, I literally don’t know life any other way.

I think my levers broken ;(

And there’s a funny smell of gas:)