Common misconceptions

My child can’t see clearly because he has a squint.

A squint is not the same as a lazy eye or a lazy eye is not the same as a squint!

Sometimes a squint is described as ‘screwing up the eyes especially in bright sunlight or to see clearly.  This would be referred to screwing up the eyelids to see clearly especially small fine detail.

A squint is a turn to the eye.  When a person is looking at you, and a turn is present at all times, meaning it is constant, it may lead to a lazy eye.  If the squint is present only some of the time (intermittent), for example, when your child is tired, usually this would not lead to a lazy eye.

My child’s eye is lazy that’s why it turns.

A lazy eye is not the same as a squint.  Some refer to a turn as being lazy, which is why the eye appears not be moving in the same direction as the other eye.  An eye that is not aligned with the other is an eye that is misaligned or not looking exactly in the same direction when the person is looking at you.

A squint may cause a lazy eye.  Also a lazy eye can happen without a squint.