Eye Movement Disorders

Health → Eyes and Vision →

Summary

When you look at an object, you're using several muscles to move both eyes to focus on it. If you have a problem with the muscles, the eyes don't work properly.

There are many kinds of eye movement disorders. Two common ones are

Strabismus - a disorder in which the two eyes don't line up in the same direction. This results in "crossed eyes" or "walleye."
Nystagmus - fast, uncontrollable movements of the eyes, sometimes called "dancing eyes"

Some eye movement disorders are present at birth. Others develop over time and may be associated with other problems, such as injuries. Treatments include glasses, patches, eye muscle exercises, and surgery. There is no cure for some kinds of eye movement disorders, such as most kinds of nystagmus.

Start Here

Nystagmus (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Strabismus (Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

Dilating Eye Drops (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Strabismus Measurements (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Vision Screening (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

Anesthesia for Adults Having Eye Surgery (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Eye muscle repair - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Strabismus Surgery (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)

Related Issues

Abnormal Head Position (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary

Specifics

Accommodative Esotropia (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Brown Syndrome (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Conjugate Gaze Palsies (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
Convergence Insufficiency (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Dissociated Vertical Deviation (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Duane Syndrome (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Esotropia (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Exotropia (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
Microvascular Cranial Nerve Palsy (American Academy of Ophthalmology) Also in Spanish
Monocular Elevation Deficiency - Double Elevator Palsy (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Oculomotor Apraxia (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: ataxia with oculomotor apraxia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Duane-radial ray syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: horizontal gaze palsy with progressive scoliosis (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: isolated Duane retraction syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: progressive external ophthalmoplegia (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: X-linked infantile nystagmus (National Library of Medicine)
Learning about Duane Syndrome (National Human Genome Research Institute)

Videos and Tutorials

Strabismus: Botox Treatment (American Academy of Ophthalmology)

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Nystagmus, Pathologic (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Ocular Motility Disorders (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Strabismus (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Anatomy of the Eye (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)
Diagram of the Eye (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
Glossary of Terms (Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology)
Overview of the Cranial Nerves (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

Finding an Eye Care Professional (National Eye Institute) Also in Spanish
National Eye Institute

Adults

Adult Strabismus (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus)

Patient Handouts

Cranial mononeuropathy III (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Cranial mononeuropathy VI (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Eye muscle repair (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Nystagmus (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Strabismus (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Supranuclear ophthalmoplegia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Basics

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Research

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