The effect of rapid alternating eye covering on formation of binocular vision in convergent squint treated with a localization method. I. Binocular vision examined in free space

: The authors have examined 35 children aged between 6 and 13 years. They were children with convergent fixed squint (angle: from +4 degrees to +26 degrees) with convergent fixation. The patients were treated in accordance with the localizing method -stage II/III. Visual acuity of the master eye was equal 1.0, and of the squinting eye-from 0.3 to 0.8 after correction. Children were practising 2 x 7-10 minutes for 5 days on an apparatus modelled on the Starkiewicz alteroobturator, looking straight forward and with eyes alternatively covered. They had the binocular vision at long and short distance checked with the use of a test with coloured filters (TF), classical Bagolini test (Bki). In all patients the subjective test was positive. Among 35 examined cases the tests for binocular vision did not change in 17. In 16 patients the image seen with the squinting eye came close to the one seen with the master eye by the average of 2.6 degrees at long distance and 4.3 degrees at short distance. Improvement took place after first exercise (8 children) or after all five exercises (8 children).