What is pseudosquint?

Babies often have broad noses and as a result, the amount of white (conjunctiva) seen on the inner aspect of the iris can be asymmetrical. Therefore, parents can feel the eyes are misaligned.

Our job is to assess the baby thoroughly to ensure that he/she does not have a squint. We also assess for features that can cause a squint such as need for glasses or abnormalities at the back of the eye.

We only see the baby for a short period of time so it is possible that the baby was straight during our examination and squinting at other times (eg when tired). This is called an intermittent squint.

As 10% can still develop a squint, despite being given the all clear by us, a follow-up appointment is essential.


These eyes are straight although the white area is less on one side compared to the other due to epicanthic folds.
We assess the light reflex in the pupils (black part) which is symmetrical.


This is a proper squint and you can see asymmetrical light reflexes