Squint Eye Exercises

Strabismus or squint is such a condition where both eyes fail to look at the same place simultaneously. It can either be in the form of

esotropia where one eye will drift inward, or
exotropia, where one eye will drift outward, or
hypertropia, where one eye drifts upward, or
hypotropia, where one eye drifts downward.

Nowadays, doctors suggest Squint eye exercises to treat the condition. These exercises are showing wonderful results.

Treating strabismus

The traditional treatment plans include the use of prescription eyewear and even surgeries to align the eyeballs properly. But the latest trend is the introduction of several eye exercises that definitely help patients to improve their eye coordination.

Exercises are not at all the substituent for medical treatments. So, doctors will never suggest exercises alone to cure strabismus as the causes and manifestations of the condition varies widely. Eye specialists can always assess the condition of the misalignment and suggest some exercises that will prevent deterioration as well as help in addressing specific symptoms.

However, you should always undergo a thorough eye examination under the Best Squint Surgeon in Mumbai before starting any prescribed eye exercises.

#1. Pencil pushups:

These are simple workouts of the ocular to get your eyes to aim at the same fixed point simultaneously. These exercises are also called near-the-point-of-convergence exercises.

You need to start by holding a pencil out at the length of the arm.
The pencil should point away.
Now, focus your gaze on a letter, eraser, or numeral present on the side.
Move the pencil gradually towards the bridge of the nose
Maintain the focus on the pencil as long as possible.

But you need to stop gazing once the vision starts to get blurry.

#2. Brock string:

The exercise is named after Frederick Brock, the Swiss optometrist. He created the concept for this exercise intending to improve the coordination of the two eyes.

Take a string that has three beads of different colours. The average length of the string can be 5 feet.
Find a fixed point like the handrail or armrest of the chair to secure one end of the above string.
Now, spread the beads maintaining equal distance in between.
Keep on holding to the string’s other loose end against your nose tightly.

You will begin to see a unswerving pattern once you start shifting the focus from one bead to another. The bead which is in front of your eyesight will appear all by itself right at the point of intersection of the rest of the identical strings. These will bear copies of the remaining two beads. It will form an “X” shape.

Know that your eyes lack in in proper focus if you see these strings crossing right in front of the beads or behind them. Unless you get to see the X at all the beads except the last bead on the string, you are not doing the exercise properly.

The bead present at the far end will have a couple of strings extending towards you in the shape of a “V”.

Continue the exercise by repositioning the beads along the same set of strings.

#3. Barrel cards:

This is good according to the experts at Eye Align if you are suffering from exotropia.

Draw three barrels in the red colour of progressive size.
The drawings should be lengthwise on one side of a card.
Now, do the same thing in green on the other side.
Hold the card vertically and lengthwise against your nose in such a way that the largest barrel is furthest from you.

Stare at the far barrel until it slowly becomes one image with both colours and the other two barrels seem to have doubled up. Maintain the gaze for at least 5 seconds. Repeat the exercise with the smallest and medium barrels.

#4. Frequent blinking:

The above three exercises were a little elaborate. If you think you don’t have much time to do much, start frequent blinking. As you use the smartphones, laptops, tablets and other electronic devices all the time, it has a negative impact on the eyes, it will cause dryness of the eyes, stress, and pain.

So, you have to normalise the blink rate of your eyes. Blinking is a simple exercise, but it will work wonders. It will hydrate the eye and increase its focus of the eye.

#5. Palming:

Gently rub both hands together and keep on rubbing them until they get warm. Now, place the warm hands on closed eyes in a way so that their placement is on each side of the cheekbone. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes to relax the eye and the muscles.

#6. Far and near focus:

A very effective way to treat the squint condition is to do exercises for improving the overall focus of your both eyes. The near and far focusing can help.

Take both thumbs and place one of them near your face
Place the other thumb at a distance.
Maintain a gap of two seconds and keep on shifting the focus from the nearly placed them to the far one.

Repeat the above exercise several times for better results.

#7. Stretching:

Minimize biking times and the constant glare of the screens of smartphones or laptops. Stretch the eyes repeatedly now and then. This will help to maintain smoothness in the movement of the eyes.

#8. Rule of 20/20/20:

Perform this exercise every 20 minutes. Pause for 20 seconds to look at an object at a far distance, approximately a distance of 20 feet.

#9. Marking Eight:

This isan interesting Squint eye exercise in adults where you have to rotate the eye slowly and make the number right using your gaze. It will stretch the muscles in all directions to increase the flexibility of the eye muscles.

#10. Eye massage:

Give your eye an ample amount of warmth and coolness. Slow massaging will improve the blood circulation in the eyes and activate the eye muscles further to correct the misalignment.

Apart from these, there are a few more exercises and a special Squint eye exercise in babies that will help to correct the condition right from a tender age. As the condition is treatable, you should continue the exercises for massive improvement.