How to distinguish pseudo-internal strabismus in children?

  This is a case of pseudo-strabismus, which does not require treatment because it appears to be strabismus, but in fact there is no strabismus and the eye position is normal.  Parents find that many children are “right-eyed” and ask for treatment. The doctor ruled out strabismus after examination, but the parents refused to believe it because they saw that their child had obvious strabismus, so how could they say it was not strabismus? Is it because the doctor did not check carefully. In this case, the strabismus is actually due to an internal canthus. This condition is most easily mistaken for an internal strabismus and is one of the most common types of pseudostrabismus. This is because the inner canthus covers the inner canthus of the eye, or in severe cases, part of the sclera, so that the sclera on the nasal side is less exposed than on the temporal side, and the nasal root of the infant is too wide, giving the appearance of an internal strabismus (opposite eye). When the child’s eye is turned to the left or right, the inwardly turned eye appears more pronounced. The way to identify this is to pinch up the skin at the root of the child’s nose to expose more of the sclera on the side of the nose, and the “internal strabismus” will disappear. In addition, we can also use the method of corneal reflection, that is, shine a flashlight between the two eyes of the child and observe whether the light shadow is in the middle of the cornea; or use the method of alternate covering one eye to check the eye position to identify. In fact, if there is no strabismus and the eye position is normal, it is pseudostrabismus and no treatment is needed.