Strabismus

[Nicole12]

Hello,
From what I know since I was born I had a problem with my eyes where they would not align, my right eye when looking to the sides would turn in way too much, thus obstructing my vision.  From what my parents have told me (I'm 25) I had three surgeries to correct the problem as a baby.  My vision as of now seems to be pretty good the only thing that I seem to have a problem with is light.  Sometimes when I'm in the car I squint becuase the light seems too bright, but the problem seems to go away when I put on my sunglasses, I no longer squint. Though its not a problem at night.  In general when its windy or very sunny my right eye waters, though no one thinks that's a problem I'm always told that as long as I can see its okay, or to just wear my sunglasses when I find the light too strong.  Is it really okay? Is there anything to correct it?
My eyes still do not function properly together and the difference between the vision in one eye and the other seems quite different to me, I have always felt my left eye to be the stronger eye and the right eye weaker.  If I cover my left eye and just try to use the right the vision isn't perfectly crisp and I feel a headache commence.  

The other thing that bothers me alot is when people notice that my eyes do not align properly, its quite embarassing sometimes in social situations because you will talk to someone and they will look off in the other direction, as if looking to see what I'm looking at (though its just from one eye, the other eye looks directly at the person I'm speaking to)  Is there any way to fix this? It may very well be a cosmetic issue but it matters to me and I'd be willing to have it fixed but I worry that there may be no guarantee that my eyes will ever align properly.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time and assistance

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

You have strabismus (eye alignment problems). Your present problem is exotrophia (one eye turns out). You need to see a strabismus specialist. They are usually called Pediatric ophthalmologists because most strabismus occurs in children. They do adults however. You may know of one or two or you can go to www.aao.org and find one near you. After 3 surgeries the prognosis is guarded (no guarentees). Nevertheless it would be good to get a fresh opinion.

Many strabismus patients have trouble with lights and glare as it interfers with their "fusion".

It will not hurt you to wear sunglasses a lot.

If you have children they have a 20% chance of having strabismus or/and amblyopia.

JCH III MD