Self Squint Correction

Hi folks,

Firstly, here is some self diagnosis of my condition :
I'm a 30 year man with a squint on my right eye, the squint deviates to the outside right whenever I am tired or not concentrating. There is no double vision and I have had this condition for as long as I can remember.

Without glasses, my right eye which has the squint is actually stronger than my left one - I assume this is due to my very short sightedness caused by reading too many books and being in front of a computer most of the time due to work. The focus strength discrepancy I believe is caused by my primary left eye focusing too long at a close object while my squinted righted eye is either unfocused or focused on a further away object
.
After reading some material online, I've come to the conclusion that the general consensus is for surgery treatment. However, I would like to put it to the experts whether there is a chance of myself correcting my squint by using a pair of glasses with the left lens taken out. Due to my very short sightedness, I seem to be able to constantly focus my right eye most of the time which I'm aware of and I hope to, over time, correct my squint by this method.

My question is to ask if this is feasible and if it is safe in terms of not causing long term damage. If feasible, is there an optimised way to correct my squint - ie. timed schedule of switching the corrective lens from right to left and back again in timed intervals etc.

I'm aware that as an adult the chances are slim but I am willing to stick to a routine of this vision therapy for as long as it takes. Also, my main objective is mainly for cosmestic reasons - I hope to improve my self image by correcting the squint.

Last but  not least, thanks for reading this and I hope somebody can give me some advise on this matter.

[Joan M Pernoud, MD]

First, you need a pair of glasses which fully and accurately correct your nearsighted ness and are not too strong or too weak. A cycloplegic refraction will accomplish this.
This will help your eyes work together best.

After you have worn these glasses awhile, if you feel your eye still turns out most of the time, you should see a good strabismus/pediatric ophthalmologist and after your consultation, consider asking for a referral to an orthoptist who can do all the tests required to determine how strong the relationship is between the two eyes and if any eye exercise could have any chance of helping. The strabismologist is the expert in knowing what  to do to help you as they see many, many cases just like yours every year and are well trained to do what is best for you. This doesn't need to be a difficult issue to solve although since your have had a tendency for your eyes to turn out, they may never work perfectly well together.

I admire your innovative thoughts but the point is not to emphasize the vision in each eye separately, but to enhance any opportunity for the eyes to work together.