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What Causes Strabismus?
Question: My fifteen year old daughter has a history of "classic" migraine headaches since she was 8 years old. She takes Imitrex, phenergan, and naprosyn which helps and/or resolves her symptoms. She has never had an MRI because her pediatrician says that her symptoms are "classic". Lately, she has been forcing herself to have strabismus. She thinks it looks cool. It looks abnormal to me. Should I be worried about her brain? or is it ok to make your eyes look two different directions?
Brief Answer:
If willful and temporary,no worries with her brain
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear of these migraines that your daughter has been having.
Involuntary and permanent strabismus is not normal and should raise worries about the well functioning of the brain especially the center concerned with vision. However, if she is the person who does this willfully and the eyes immediately return to normal once she stops doing so, then there is no reason to worry. She could be gaining temporary pleasure from tis but it would not be able to cause any long term permanent visual defect. She would sooner than later outgrow this habit(tic).
An MRI is not always necessary and more so if there are no signs of increased pressure in the brain or specific neurologic symptoms that can raise that suspicion. But if you are too worried and seem not convinced about her not having done an MRI, you may request one just to get your mind frame settled on this.
In all, we can temporary and deliberately alter how our eyes look but they should return to normal immediately we stop. If this is not the case, then talking to her pediatrician and probably an ophthalmologist would be helpful.
I hope you find this helpful. I wish you and your daughter well. Feel free to ask for more information and clarification if need be. Thanks for using our services.
If willful and temporary,no worries with her brain
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.
I am so sorry to hear of these migraines that your daughter has been having.
Involuntary and permanent strabismus is not normal and should raise worries about the well functioning of the brain especially the center concerned with vision. However, if she is the person who does this willfully and the eyes immediately return to normal once she stops doing so, then there is no reason to worry. She could be gaining temporary pleasure from tis but it would not be able to cause any long term permanent visual defect. She would sooner than later outgrow this habit(tic).
An MRI is not always necessary and more so if there are no signs of increased pressure in the brain or specific neurologic symptoms that can raise that suspicion. But if you are too worried and seem not convinced about her not having done an MRI, you may request one just to get your mind frame settled on this.
In all, we can temporary and deliberately alter how our eyes look but they should return to normal immediately we stop. If this is not the case, then talking to her pediatrician and probably an ophthalmologist would be helpful.
I hope you find this helpful. I wish you and your daughter well. Feel free to ask for more information and clarification if need be. Thanks for using our services.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Shanthi.E
Thank you. I was hoping that would be the answer. Overall, I am not overly anxious about her not having an MRI. Her pediatrician has said he would order one but he doesn't think it necessary. I trust his judgement. She has an aura with decreased vision in her right eye and numbness in the right side of her face. These symptoms scare her and the anxiety of the headache getting out of hand scares her. She is incapacitated and miserable during the headache so i sympathize with her fears. Most of the time, if she takes the imitrex right away, she can stop the migraine. Sometimes it doesn't work. Now that she is older, she has researched the topic and she talks about taking medicine daily to prevent migraines. She mentioned it to her pediatrician and he told her that the daily medicines have lots of side effects. She wants to try it. she says that she wants to do anything to keep from having the pain. He wants to continue same regimen which does work part of the time. He wants her to avoid her triggers. Her triggers include not sleeping enough and skipping meals which she can control. Unfortunately, sometimes exercise and menstruation triggers her migraines. These, she can't control--she exercises 1-3 hours most days. She is an avid basketball player and when she can't travel with her team because of a headache--she is very disappointed. She is having fewer migraines now that her menses is regulated. She keeps a headache diary and in 2013--she had 14 migraines. She is rarely ill otherwise-- she eats well---ideal weight ect. Would you recommend a daily medication? If so, which one?
Brief Answer:
Sure, she can try propranolol/Nifedipine, etc
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this follow up information.
I understand how debilitating and frustrating this illness must have been to your daughter. Daily prophylactic treatment is a good option to consider seen how often and severe she comes down with attacks. There are several different drugs that can be tried and should the results be helpful, continuing would be the right thing to do. Some of them include propranolol and nifedipine.
I will recommend that she starts a daily prophylaxis. the side effects and benefits would be evaluated and the decision to stop or continued would be made based on that. This would be very helpful than not trying to see if she could really benefit from this.
I hope this helps. I wish her well and let me know if there is something more I can do for you at this time.
Sure, she can try propranolol/Nifedipine, etc
Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this follow up information.
I understand how debilitating and frustrating this illness must have been to your daughter. Daily prophylactic treatment is a good option to consider seen how often and severe she comes down with attacks. There are several different drugs that can be tried and should the results be helpful, continuing would be the right thing to do. Some of them include propranolol and nifedipine.
I will recommend that she starts a daily prophylaxis. the side effects and benefits would be evaluated and the decision to stop or continued would be made based on that. This would be very helpful than not trying to see if she could really benefit from this.
I hope this helps. I wish her well and let me know if there is something more I can do for you at this time.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
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