Newborn Baby Cross Eyed

1. Extra Skin

Some babies are born with a few extra folds of skin around the eye, especially in the inner corners. This extra skin in the inner corners can give the appearance of crossed eyes. However, as babies grow, these extra folds of skin will disappear and so will the appearance of a crossed eye.

2. Lack Of Coordination

Let’s face it. Your baby is just born. He does not yet know many things, including how to coordinate his body parts. Just like he doesn’t know how to take his hand and put it in his mouth yet (he will master this in a few months), he does not yet have a hang of working his eyes together. Do not worry, and he will learn this soon enough.

3. Weaker Eye Muscles

There are six tiny muscles around each of our eyes that work in sync to get our eyes to move around. In newborns, at times, one or more of these muscles might be slightly weaker than others, thereby restricting the movements of the respective eye. This is why even if they do not have crossed eyes, you notice their eyes do not move in perfect sync. Again, all the muscles will become stronger by the time your baby is 3 or 4 months old.

That being said, by the time your baby hits the 3-month milestone, he should be able to follow objects and people with both his eyes, thanks to better coordination. However, if the eyes never seem to align, it would be best to take the advice of your pediatrician.

Symptoms of Newborn baby Cross Eyed

One or both of the newborn’s eyes may be crossed. Also, the condition may be intermittent or persistent. Signs of cross-eye in newborns include:

• Having either one eye or both eyes turn inward so that they are looking toward the nose
• Either one or both of the eyes moving laterally, closer to the ear
• The abnormal eye is positioned higher than the other eye, indicating that the eyes are not aligned properly.
• Both eyes are positioned incorrectly, with one eye sitting abnormally lower than the other.
• Squinting or blinking frequently, especially when exposed to bright light. It may indicate that your baby is experiencing double vision.
• The baby is turning or tilting its head more frequently. There’s a good chance it’s a sign that your baby is attempting to align something in their line of sight.

During the first few months of their lives, many infants have the appearance of having crossed eyes at times. In most cases, this problem goes away once the baby is about 4 months old. If the baby continues to exhibit cross-eyed behavior after the fourth month, you should be extremely concerned and bring it up with your child’s doctor’s notice.

Should I Talk To The Doctor About My Child’s Crossed Eyes?

In the initial few months, your doctor will tell you exactly what we told above – that it is normal for newborns to have a crossed eyes appearance. You would also notice that during each of your routine doctor visits, your doctor would shine a small torch into your baby’s eyes. He is checking if the eyes are developing as they should be and if the eyes are responding to the light as is expected for your baby’s age group.

If the results of this small test are satisfactory, you have nothing to worry about it. Just wait it out. That said, if your baby’s eyes look crossed all the time, if you feel particularly concerned, then it is a good idea to talk to the doctor to rule out any other problems.

When Can Newborn Baby Cross-Eyed Be A Problem?

Although not very common, the newborn baby cross-eyed can be an indicator of bigger eye problems. There are two issues that can happen:

1. Strabismus (crossed eyes)

This refers to a newborn baby cross-eyed that does not resolve itself in 4 months. The eyes appear uncoordinated. It would appear as if the child is looking at different points with each eye and never focusing on the same point. Strabismus is the result of the way “brain” communicates with the eye muscles. It can be corrected through various strabismus treatment options.

2. Amblyopia (Lazy Eyes)

If the child’s eyes are misaligned, or if there are any vision problems like near- or farsightedness, or there is a block in vision due to a cataract, then in some cases the brain will shut down the vision of one eye. This condition is called amblyopia. By fixing the underlying problem, lazy eyes can be managed. But identifying it is very difficult as kids are often not good at telling you that their “one eye does not work.”

 Treatment Options For Cross Eye In Babies

Persisting cross-eyed after the fourth month, as previously stated, can be an indication of an underlying eye issue like strabismus. Strabismus can lead to amblyopia (also known as “lazy eye”) if left untreated.  Therefore, it is important to diagnose and treat strabismus as early as possible.

Various strabismus treatment options include Eyeglasses, Eye drops, Eye patching, and Surgery on the eye muscles. But if left untreated, it can deteriorate the vision of one eye.

Eye Drops

In the event that your baby refuses to wear an eye patch and eyeglass, your doctor may recommend eye drops (called atropine drops), which temporarily blur the vision in the stronger eye. The eye drops temporarily blur the vision in the straight eye, forcing the crossed eye to work harder, so the vision and muscles improve within time.

Eye Glasses

Strabismus can be corrected in many infants with the use of eyeglasses, sometimes in conjunction with specialized prism lenses. Although it may be challenging for making a baby wear glass, it is important for infants to have clear vision.

Eye Patching

In some cases, it’s enough to have your baby wear eyeglasses to straighten out the eyes. It doesn’t improve by using eyeglasses, and then the doctor may suggest an eye patch that the baby has to wear on the straight or normal eye for a couple of hours each day. This allows the baby to see only through the crossed eye, and, as time passes, the vision and muscles in this eye improve and become stronger and get to the correct position.

Surgery

If your baby’s strabismus doesn’t improve with eyeglasses, eye patching, and eye drops, then the final one is eye muscles may need surgery. Surgery will loosen or tighten the eye muscles, which causes crossed eyes. Always this is not the cause of the condition. Some diseases can also cause strabismus rarely and are treatable without surgery. This is why it’s important to have a medical professional examine your kid before considering a surgical option thoroughly whether surgery is necessary or not.

If diagnosed in the early stages, the condition is treatable by your doctor more easily. For this reason, early diagnosis and treatment are key to solving it easily.

There are other vision problems that the doctor will screen your child if his crossed eyes remain persistent after 3-4 months. The most important thing to remember is that most vision problems can be corrected, through surgery, medicine and glasses. And as we said before, the infant-crossed eyes in newborns are quite normal, and more often than not, it will resolve itself.