In children, the reason for not seeing double is that the brain may ignore the image it receives from the squinting eye.

If left untreated, the eye may turn out continually, causing a loss of binocular vision or stereopsis.

This is called amblyopia, or lazy eye, and results in a loss of binocular vision, impairing depth perception.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, over 90 percent of children with intermittent exotropia become nearsighted by the time they reach 20.

One study has found that children with exotropia are three times more likely to develop a psychiatric disorder in comparison with the general population.

Although glasses and/or patching therapy, exercises, or prisms may reduce or help control the outward-turning eye in some children, surgery is often required.

A common form of exotropia is known as "convergence insufficiency" that responds well to orthoptic vision therapy including exercises.

Strabismus surgery is sometimes recommended if the exotropia is present for more than half of each day or if the frequency is increasing over time.

It is also indicated if a child has significant exotropia when reading or viewing near objects or if evidence shows that the eyes are losing their ability to work as a single unit (binocular vision).

If none of these criteria are met, surgery may be postponed pending simple observation with or without some form of eyeglass and/or patching therapy.

The long-term success of surgical treatment for conditions such as intermittent exotropia is not well proven, and surgery can often result in a worsening of symptoms due to overcorrection.

Evidence from systematic reviews of interventions show clinical benefits for patching for children ages 12 months to ten years.