Lady Louise Windsor Was Born With A Rare Health Condition. Here's What We Know About It.

If you keep a close eye on the comings and goings of the royal family, you're probably familiar with Lady Louise Windsor. She mostly keeps to herself, but we love seeing her make a public appearance every now and then. The daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Louise recently made headlines when she got accepted to St Andrews University in Scotland to study English, following in Prince William's footsteps (via the Independent).

While most are aware that she's a member of the royal family, those who aren't avid fans might not know that Louise was born with a rare eye condition — although she has 20/20 vision now. The condition, which is called esotropia (also often referred to as a "squint"), meant that Louise used to have trouble with her sight when she was young. She was born prematurely, and as her mother told Express, it wasn't uncommon for premature babies to have this condition "because the eyes are the last thing in the baby package to really be finalised." Those who've been keeping tabs on the royal family might remember that Louise's eyes used to appear as if they were looking in different directions when she was a young child. Read on to discover more about this rare condition and how Louise managed to overcome it.

Lady Louise Windsor's birth was quite dramatic. She had to be born via an emergency caesarian section and only weighed 4 pounds 9 ounces. Her mother Sophie, Countess of Wessex, almost died from excessive blood loss. It is thought that Louise's esotropia was a result of her premature birth. Her mother revealed in an interview with Express that Louise's squint was "quite profound" when she was small. Some outlets reported that Louise had exotropia (one or both eyes looking outward), but her mother set the record straight in the interview. "Louise was born with a squint. People have called it exotropia. It wasn't ever exotropia — that has been incorrect" (via Express).

Hello! reports that Louise first underwent surgery to correct her sight when she was only 18 months old. This was likely because her esotropia was pretty severe. She underwent a quick, 30-minute procedure, but unfortunately, the surgery wasn't successful. "It takes time to correct it. You've got to make sure one eye doesn't become more dominant than the other," her mother explained during the interview. Her esotropia didn't keep Louise from living her life, however. She still managed to do well in school and even took up horseback riding.

The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus explains that the type of esotropia you get diagnosed with depends on a few things: How often you experience it, your age, and whether it's possible to correct it with glasses. A person can be diagnosed with either infantile esotropia, acquired esotropia, intermittent esotropia, or accommodative esotropia (via Medical News Today).

Infantile esotropia refers to esotropia diagnosed in children who are 1 year old or younger. Doctors will typically suggest the child undergo surgery to correct their vision before they turn 2 since this is when the procedure tends to be the most successful. Acquired esotropia, on the other hand, refers to esotropia that develops later in a person's life. It's typically triggered by other issues like being farsighted or having diabetes. People with acquired esotropia typically deal with double vision.

According to WebMD, some people develop intermittent esotropia. This means that the eyes sometimes struggle to cooperate together, making it challenging to focus. People with this type of esotropia usually find that their eyes can't focus on objects they're trying to see and instead focus past them. This can lead to additional issues like struggling to read, headaches, and eye strain. Accommodative esotropia, also known as refractive esotropia, is the most common, and symptoms also show up when people are trying to focus on objects. People who are farsighted and don't wear corrective lenses often develop accommodative esotropia as a result.

Esotropia can be fairly easy to spot if you know what to look for. Ironically, the most obvious symptom, which is eyes that look crossed and don't seem to be able to look at the same place at the same time, might not be visible to you when you look in the mirror, Healthline reports. There are other ways to recognize that you might be dealing with this condition, however.

For starters, having trouble focusing on objects that are right in front of you is a cause for concern. You might notice that you can't see something well with both eyes but can focus on it if you use only one eye. The UT Southwestern Medical Center notes that the most common symptom people with adult-onset esotropia experience is double vision. Additionally, they might notice that their range of vision becomes smaller. Experiencing blurry vision is also common. You might also find that your depth perception starts to decrease.

In the case of children, however, symptoms are often not as obvious — at least not to them. Because their brains are still developing, they will accommodate for the lack of vision by trying to obscure one image to prevent double vision. Parents might notice that the child's eyes look crossed — this symptom could be present in either one or both eyes. In some cases, one eye crosses way more than the other, and this is often referred to as a lazy eye.

As you might have gathered by now, esotropia does not solely occur in children, and many adults deal with this eye condition as well. The difference lies in how it's treated — treatment varies depending on the patient's age. The UT Southwestern Medical Center reports that esotropia can sometimes be spotted in infants, while other children only start presenting symptoms when they're between the ages of 1 and 8. The esotropia can be intermittent or constant. Healthline suggests that, if you have a family history of strabismus, you take your child for a precautionary eye exam at a pediatric ophthalmologist or optometrist. Experts can pick up any irregularities before they become a problem. The earlier esotropia is detected, the sooner it can be treated to prevent any complications like vision loss. In many cases, severe esotropia in children will be corrected through surgery.

Even if you never dealt with esotropia symptoms as a child, you might start to develop them when you're an adult. Experiencing double vision is usually the first telltale sign. This might become a problem when you are busy doing things that require your eyes to be super focused, like reading, writing, driving, taking part in sports, or when you're doing specific tasks at work. Unlike children, adults who develop esotropia usually don't require surgery. Undergoing eye therapy or getting prescription glasses typically helps clear up the problem.

Esotropia isn't something that will usually go away on its own — it needs to be treated by medical professionals. WebMD warns that forgoing treatment will only cause the condition to become worse over time. Children who present esotropia symptoms after they turn 3 or 4 years old should be taken to see an eye specialist as soon as possible. The longer the eyes are out of alignment, the more issues may pop up, and the child might start to experience other symptoms such as headaches, eye strain, and blurry vision that start to interfere with their daily life. They might also begin to complain of double vision and experience poor 3D vision.

It is vital that esotropia gets treated as soon as symptoms show up. This is because esotropia which is left unchecked beyond the age of 9 can lead to permanent blindness.