Strabismus is a term used to describe the condition where both eyes do not look in the same direction as each other (also known as squint or lazy eye). Strabismus may be present at birth, appear during childhood or following an illness or injury. The eye muscles can be operated on to straighten the eyes. This may help the eyes work together. Treatment may also include glasses, wearing a patch over one eye and eye exercises which will be continued following eye surgery. Strabismus is a common eye disorder.

Eyesight Rx
Supports Healthy Vision
Developed by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Supplement Facts:
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
Citrus bioflavonoids (eriocitrin, hesperidin, flavonols, flavones, flavonoids, naringenin, and quercetin)
Mixed carotenoids (alpha carotene, astaxanthin, beta carotene, cryptoxanthin, Lutein, Lycopene, Zeaxanthin)
Bilberry extract (Vaccinium myrtillus)
Eyebright extract (Euphrasia officianales)
Jujube extract (Zizyphus jujube)
Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo biloba)
Suma extract (Pfaffia paniculata)
Mucuna pruriens extract (Cowhage)
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
Lycium berry extract (Lycium Barbarum)
Sarsaparila (Sarsaparilla Smilax)
Alpha Lipoic Acid as antioxidant

Other ingredients: Sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, magnesium stearate, silicon dioxide, modified cellulose, natural orange flavor, stevia (stevia rebaudiania), water.

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Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter  Twice a month we email you a brief abstract of several new studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including strabismus and vision enhancement, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Strabismus Research Update
The prevalence of strabismus and amblyopia in Japanese elementary school children.
Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2005 Feb;12(1):31-6.
The purpose of this study is to elucidate the prevalence of strabismus and amblyopia in a large population of Japanese elementary school children, from Grade 1 to Grade 6, ages ranging from 6 to 12 years. The School Health Law requires that all pupils in Grade 1 to Grade 6 be examined for vision and eye problems. Visual acuity testing is done by school teachers and eye disease screening by school ophthalmologists. Pupils with suspected ocular diseases are further examined by extramural ophthalmologists and the results reported back to the schools. The schools then summarize and send uncorrected visual acuity and ocular disease incidence, together with other health statistics, to the municipal education committees. The data are forwarded to the Prefecture Governments and finally submitted to the Education Ministry of the Central Government. Both the Prefecture Governments and the Education Ministry publicize the school health statistics on their websites. The prevalence of strabismus and amblyopia remains unknown from these data because both diagnoses are included under the heading, eye diseases. METHODS: Questionnaires asking about the numbers of children with different types of strabismus and amblyopia were sent to all elementary schools in Okayama Prefecture and the results were summarized. RESULTS: The number of children covered by the return of questionnaires was 86,531 (76.4%) of 113,254 total pupils in Grade 1 to Grade 6 in Okayama Prefecture in the year 2003. The total numbers of children with strabismus and amblyopia were 1,112 (1.28%) and 125 (0.14%), respectively. The numbers of children with any type of exotropia and any type of esotropia were 602 (0.69%) and 245 (0.28%), respectively. The major types of strabismus and amblyopia were intermittent exotropia in 109 children (0.12%), accommodative esotropia in 19 children (0.02%), anisometropic amblyopia in 23 children (0.03%), and ametropic amblyopia in 12 children (0.01%). The number of children with strabismus of unknown type was 245 (0.28%) while the number of children with amblyopia of unknown type was 81 (0.09%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence rates of strabismus and amblyopia in this population of Japanese elementary school children were lower than those reported in Western countries. The exotropia/esotropia ratio were increased in comparison with past studies in Japan. The school eye doctors need to be more diligent in identifying and diagnosing various types of strabismus and amblyopia in order to contribute to the school vision screening program already in place in Japan.

Additional links of interest
Nearsightedness also known as myopia
Presbyopia also known as aging eye or old eye. Presbyopia is a condition in which the aging eye is unable to focus on near objects. It typically begins around age 40. It is due to the loss of the normal elasticity of the lens of the eye. Over time, Presbyopia results in the inability to see close objects, as when reading a newspaper.
Farsightedness also known as hyperopia.
Myopia is also known as nearsightedness.

Strabismus Surgery
Corrective surgery for strabismus -- a visual defect in which the eyes are misaligned -- can reduce the social anxiety and social avoidance often associated with the condition. Strabismus is often informally referred to as "cross-eyes." People with the condition may have one or two eyes that turn inward, outward, up or down. The exact cause of such misalignment is not fully clear.

Strabismus questions
Q. Do you have any information on how this eyesight RX could work for an infant of 7 months of age? My 7 month old has strabismus esotrophia (crossed eyes) with 70-75 degree diopter measurement. The doctors say the only way to
correct this is through surgery...I am looking for other options but she is probably too young to take this supplement. Please help me with any information you may have.
   A. I am not familiar with the treatment of strabismus in infants and do not recommend the use of Eyesight Rx in infants or children.