When this happens, older children and adults will usually experience double vision. Various types of strabismic conditions are treated differently. For example, glasses will nearly always be prescribed for esotropia. The glasses help relax the crossed eye that is turning in too far, allowing it to aim straighter. In very mild cases of crossed eyes this may be enough to correct the problem, but usually additional treatment is required.
Some doctors recommend surgery to correct strabismus.
Unfortunately for the sake of these children, surgery by itself is not the best choice. Parents often have common misconceptions about eye surgery. This is simply not true, but it's an easy way for doctors to explain the problem, however inaccurate. With the exception of muscle paralysis, the eye muscles in a crossed eye are not weak, but rather the problem lies in the signal from the brain to the muscles which control eye movements. A simple procedure can demonstrate that there is nothing inherently wrong with the eye muscles in a crossed eye.