Amblyopia

Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, occurs when central vision does not develop properly in one eye, leading to poor, unclear vision. Although the eye with amblyopia has the capability to see, the brain elects to see through the stronger eye rather than the blurry eye, causing functional blindness in the affected eye. Amblyopia usually affects one eye, but may occur in both.

Roughly 2 percent of the population suffers from amblyopia, and the condition causes more loss of vision in patients under 45 than all other eye diseases or injuries combined. Although amblyopia usually develops before age seven, it can be occur at any age as a result of trauma to the eye or a strong, uncorrected refractive error, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness. A condition called strabismus, during which misaligned eyes look at two different points in space at the same time, thus sending two different images to the brain, also can result in amblyopia. Rarely, amblyopia can be caused by a defect in the lens, such as a cataract.

Symptoms of amblyopia are often subtle, and children affected by the condition often don't know they have it. Some noticeable symptoms include eyes that do not move in the same direction or fix on the same point, discomfort when the eye is covered, squinting or tilting the head to focus on something, or a droopy upper eyelid.

Early treatment of amblyopia is vital for vision improvement. It is never too early to have a child's eyes examined. Doing so during the early stages of vision development could prevent amblyobia from completely destroying the child's vision.

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