Sometimes bifocals are needed for close work. Eye drops, ointment or special lenses called prisms can also be used to straighten the eyes. Exotropia Exotropia, or an outward turning eye, is another common type of strabismus. This occurs most often when a child is focusing on distant objects. The exotropia may occur only from time to time, particularly when a child is daydreaming, ill or tired.
Parents often notice that the child squints one eye in bright sunlight.
Although glasses, exercises or prisms may reduce or help control the outward turning eye in some children, surgery is often required. The eyeball is never removed from the socket during any kind of eye surgery. During strabismus surgery, the ophthalmologist makes a small incision in the tissue covering the eye to reach the eye muscles. Certain muscles are repositioned during the surgery, depending on which direction the eye is turning. It may be necessary to perform surgery on one or both eyes.