Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, is a unique disorder. It is a poor vision in an eye that did not develop normally during childhood. It commonly affects one eye but may also involve both eyes.
- It is not correctable by glasses or contact lenses.
- It is not due to any eye disease.
- The brain does not fully acknowledge the images seen by the amblyopic eye.
Causes of Lazy Eye
Amblyopia is caused by various conditions which prevent the brain from using both eyes together.
- Constant strabismus : it is the constant turn of one eye.
- Anisometropia : It is the different vision or prescriptions in each eye.
- Blockage of an eye due to cataract, trauma, lid droop, etc.
- A condition in which the brain to avoid double vision ignores the image from the deviating eye which leads to poor visual development.
- Amblyopia can occur due to the causes for stimulus deprivation like ptosis, cataract, glaucoma, patching or any other obstacle that blocks the vision in the eye.
Signs and Symptoms of Lazy Eye
- A lazy eye is not always easily recognized.
- A child may not even be aware that one of his eyes is not working with the other.
- Photographs that show milky white spots in a child’s eye, rather than the more common red spots, may indicate the early development of cataracts.
- If your child routinely closes one eye while reading or watching the television, the vision in that eye may be impaired.
- If your child is not performing well in school, consult an eye-doctor before questioning his/her learning ability.
- Consult an eye doctor if your child’s eyes don’t appear to be working in unison when he or she focuses on an object.
- Avoidance of activities such as athletics or indoor activities such as reading or coloring may be a sign of vision problems.
