Most often, there has already been a history of strabismus in childhood. This lack of parallelism of the two ocular axes can then be talked about again years later for several reasons.

– It is a recurrence and the deviation is then the same as during childhood.

– The strabismus had not been completely corrected (residual strabismus).

– The deviation is reversed: this can occur on the occasion of the appearance of presbyopia, exceptional strain on vision, loss of vision in one eye, surgery ophthalmologic (cataract, refractive surgery), trauma, etc.

Sometimes still, this strabismus appears for the first time in adulthood, at least in appearance: indeed, some people have always had a tendency to deviate from their visual axes, but only when their eyes are at rest (intermittent strabismus , latent). It is heterophoria. When not at rest, this deviation disappears and strabismus therefore usually goes unnoticed. But in case of too much stress – for example, after long hours spent on screen or prolonged close work or uncompensated presbyopia – a deviation of the eyes, appears (decompensation of heterophoria). It is accompanied by eye fatigue, headache, pain behind the eyes, and even double vision.

Finally, the rarest situation is that of strabismus occurring in an adult without any history on this side, but in a particular pathological context: high myopia, a history of retinal detachment, Graves’ hyperthyroidism, oculomotor paralysis. in a diabetic, cerebral hemorrhage, multiple sclerosis or even a brain tumor. The double vision (diplopia) of brutal installation gives the alert because it is difficult to endure on a daily basis.