What is Hypertropia?
Hypertropia occurs under the condition in which the eye muscles are unbalanced and do not act together. The most common reason for Hypertropia is weakening (palsy) in the nerves that control eye movement in the brain. Hypertropia can either be inherited or developed later in life.
Causes of Hypertropia
Hypertropia occurs due to multiple reasons. Some of the well-known causes of Hypertropia incudes:
Stroke
Adults most commonly encounter a turning of the eye (hypertropia) due to a neurological event such as a stroke. A blood clot that causes a stroke can also cause damage to the nerves that govern eye movement.
Thyroid disease
Thyroid eye illness is characterised by factors such as inflammation of the eye muscles, eyelids, tear glands and fatty tissues behind the eye. This can result in red, puffy, painful eyes and eyelids.
Eye injury
Eye injuries could be one of the possible reasons for the cause of Hypertropia. Here, one eye turns up while the other looks in the right direction. Cases like this are uncommon and there are therapies available to cure the condition.
Neurological disorders
Hypertropia often comes up with several neurological disorders. In general, the eyes operate as a team to see clearly and focus on images both near and far. However, sometimes the eyes move independently and can cause eyesight problems if they turn in opposite directions from each other.
Symptoms of Hypertropia
The symptoms of Hypertropia can be difficult to detect. This condition can either be permanent throughout your life or it may just occur occasionally when you're upset. The following are the most prevalent symptoms of Hypertropia:
Eye wander
Your eyes wander aimlessly without any control. This condition naturally makes your eye move upwards toward the ceiling or the sky.
Double vision
This condition is known as strabismus. One eye turns up while the other sees in the left or right direction (Hypertropia). This condition is most common in children, but it can also affect adults. Hypertropia is the most uncommon form of strabismus, affecting about 1 in 400 children.
Head tilt
Adults with the disease may suffer double vision as well as a subconscious head tilt. Eye strain and headaches can arise, as they can with other types of strabismus.
Eyestrain
Eyestrain is a frequent problem that happens when your eyes become fatigued from prolonged use, such as driving long distances or staring at computer screens. Eye strain is a distressing condition.
Headaches
Your eye muscles may contract excessively if you work your eyes too hard. These contractions can cause a headache due to eye strain. These headaches frequently produce pain and discomfort behind the eyes.
Treatments of Hypertropia
You can recover from the condition of Hypertropia by the following treatments. After examining the condition, your doctor may suggest the following treatments:
Eye patch
Vision difficulties such as eye patches are caused due to hypertropia and can be corrected using glasses, often with a specific prism. For this, a patch will be placed over your strong eye to help correct vision in the weak one.
Surgery
The most common treatment for Hypertropia is surgery. Through the application of surgery, certain eye muscles can be loosened, tightened or moved for the eyes to line up properly and work together. People with Hypertropia frequently experience double vision that can be corrected using prism glasses.
Vision therapy
The treatment of Hyperphoria requires vision therapy. The goal of vision therapy is to improve the eye-brain connection and vision in the damaged eye. Vision treatment is often used in conjunction with eyeglasses, patching or surgery.
Botox
In Botox treatment, you'll get eye drops to numb your eye first. Your doctor will then inject a small amount of Botox into your eye muscle with a special needle to prevent it from contracting for a period of time.
Toxin Botulinum is injected into specific extraocular muscles to minimise the misalignment of the eyes. This is one of the best medical methods used occasionally in the management of strabismus.
Diagnosis
Your doctor may recommend an MRI scan to determine whether your Hypertropia is caused by a nerve or muscle condition. Apart from MRI scan, here are some of the tests that are recommended by doctors:
Hirschberg test
The Hirschberg test is a quick and easy method of determining ocular alignment. This test is especially beneficial for detecting strabismus (eye misalignment) in infants, small children and patients with impaired vision. This test is also known as the corneal light reflex test.
Krimsky test
Prisms are used in this test to supplement the Hirschberg test. Prisms are placed in front of the deviating eye, base-down in the case of Hypertropia and gradually increased until the Hirschberg test is neutral. It's very useful for patients who didn't cooperate well in the last exam, especially those with low vision.
Cover Test
A cover test can be used to diagnose tropias. To accomplish this, the physician must briefly cover the eye that is being fixed and observe the fellow eye for refixation movement. The non-fixing eye moves downward as it takes up fixation in the case of hypertropia. If there is no refixation, the opposite eye may be the one that is fixing, in which case it is covered and the test is repeated.
Simultaneous prism cover test
A simultaneous prism cover test is done by placing a prism in front of the deviating eye while covering the fixating eye.
Risk Factors of Hypertropia
Some of the possible risk factors of Hypertropia include the following factors:
Smoking
You might be wondering how smoking affects your eyes. In general, a layer called the uvea, which is located in the middle layer of the eyewall can be damaged by smoking. Any Inflammation in the uvea can result in red eyes, discomfort and vision impairment that leads to Hypertropia.
Thyroid dysfunction
Iodine insufficiency is one of the important causes of thyroid dysfunction. Autoimmune illnesses destroy the immune system to cause diseases like hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's disease).
Thyroid eye disease
Thyroid eye illness is characterised by inflammation of the eye muscles, eyelids, tear glands, and fatty tissues behind the eye. This can result in red and painful eyes.
When to see a doctor?
An eye exam and other specialised tests are used by eye physicians to diagnose Hypertropia. You or your child's doctor may discover that your child's eyes aren't straight or that their head is tilted. Children should have regular vision exams as part of their well-baby visits, especially if there is a history of eye problems in their family. It is critical to catch the problem early on to avoid complications in the future.
If your child's doctor finds anything unusual during a vision test, they may refer him or her to an ophthalmologist (a specialist who performs eye surgery) for a more accurate examination.
Summing up
Although hypertropia is a rare condition, it is easily treatable with the right glasses, eye patches, and surgery. It usually affects young children, but it can also affect people later. If you detect any changes in your vision, contact your eye doctor to get your eyes evaluated for any problems. Through this, you can potentially cure eye problems by treating them early.
Frequently Asked questions
1.What neurological causes hypertropia?
2.How common is hypertropia?
3.How do you treat hypertropia naturally?
1. To begin, hold a pencil at arm's length and point it away from you.
2. Concentrate your attention on the eraser or a letter or numeral on the side of the desk.
3. Move the pencil slowly toward your nose bridge.
4. Keep it in focus as long as you can, but once your eyesight becomes fuzzy, then stop the process.
