Vision is one of the most critical of the five senses. When your vision is ailing, it becomes difficult to participate in regular day to day activities such as running errands, driving, and others without assistance. When you lose your sight completely, you might take a lot of time to adjust to the lifestyle changes that you will have to put in place to survive.

One of the most common eye health complications that plague a lot of people is misaligned pupils. When you have eye alignment issues, reading can be very difficult. Additionally, the appearance can create a lot of stigma for you. Here are three conditions that cause pupil misalignment and why you should have an eye exam as soon as possible.

Developing Exotropia or Wall Eyes

Most of the eye misalignment issues are genetic. Normally, it is the result of one eye having weaker muscles than the other. The weaker eye is, therefore, unable to focus on an object and send a proper image to the brain. With time, the brain learns to ignore the contradictory image sent by the weak or wandering eye. 

Exotropia is, therefore, the child's brain learning to rely on the images sent by one eye and ignoring the other one. This prevents the child from developing double vision. However, it also creates a complication because it means that one of the two eyes will never develop a normal 20/20 vision. As a result, the overall vision of the individual will be weaker.

Developing Esotropia or Cross Eyes

The other possible eye health complication that results from misaligned pupils are cross-eyes. This is when one of the pupils turns inwards and is disproportionately located in relation to the other. 

When this condition is left untreated, it leads to decreased depth perception, double vision, impaired vision, and even eye strain and headache, especially when reading. Proper treatment can help realign the eyes either through surgery or muscle strengthening exercises for the weaker eye.

Developing Short-sightedness or Long-Sightedness

This is a refractive issue that is caused by excessive eye growth. The light that enters the eye does not reach the refractive tissue, making the object appear blurry. There's little that can be done to fix short-sightedness or long-sightedness. The best thing to do is to get an eye exam early for proper diagnosis and glass prescription.

These are eye problems that can be fixed by a competent eye health professional. Find a doctor's office, like Northwest Ophthalmology, for an eye exam and a recommendation of the best treatment.