Amblyopia is a vision condition also referred to as lazy eye. It occurs when development between the brain and one of eyes doesn't go perfectly. The brain begins to rely more heavily on the other eye. It isn't contagious.
Lazy Eye
Amblyopia is often called "lazy eye" a condition in which one eye tends to wander because it has poor vision. Very often, lazy eye can be corrected with a patch or corrective eyewear. If your child has lazy eye, get treatment early to prevent permanent damage to vision.
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See All 3 AnswersTo correct amblyopia, a child must be made to use the weak eye. This is usually done by covering or blurring the strong eye, often for weeks or months.
Even after vision has been restored in the weak eye, part-time patching may be required over a period of years to maintain the improvement.
Eyeglasses may be prescribed to correct errors in focusing. If glasses alone do not improve vision, then patching is necessary.
Amblyopia may also be treated by blurring the vision in the good eye with special eyedrops or lenses to force the child to use the amblyopic eye.
Amblyopia is usually treated before surgery to correct misaligned eyes, and patching or blurring with eyedrops are often continued after surgery as well.
If your ophthalmologist finds a cataract or other abnormality, surgery may be required to correct the problem. An intraocular lens may be implanted. After surgery, eyeglasses or contact lenses can be used to restore focusing while patching improves vision.
Amblyopia cannot usually be cured by treating the cause alone. The weaker eye must be made stronger in order to see normally. Prescribing eyeglasses or performing surgery can correct the cause of amblyopia, but your ophthalmologist must also treat the amblyopia itself.
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Dr. Michael X. Repka , Ophthalmology, answered on behalf of American Academy of Ophthalmology's EyeSmartSee All 2 AnswersA contact lens is often used in the amblyopic eye of a patient when that eye has a large refractive error and the fellow eye has minimal refractive error. In theory, such a patient may be better treated with a contact lens, but that remains to be proven.
Some physicians feel that correcting the eye may prevent the development of a misalignment, so that is often the reason for persisting in using the contact lens. However, we do not know if that helps. If you experience some benefit with the lens, I would continue; if not, stop. Whatever you do, you should wear protective spectacle lenses at all times for the good eye.
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It is not easy to recognize amblyopia. A child may not be aware of having one strong eye and one weak eye. Unless the child has a misaligned eye or other obvious abnormality, there is often no way for parents to tell that something is wrong.
Amblyopia is detected by finding a difference in vision between the two eyes or poor vision in both eyes. Since it is difficult to measure vision in young children, your ophthalmologist often estimates visual acuity by watching how well a baby follows objects with one eye when the other eye is covered.
Using a variety of tests, the ophthalmologist observes the reactions of the baby when one eye is covered. If one eye is amblyopic and the good eye is covered, the baby may attempt to look around the patch, try to pull it off or cry.
Poor vision in one eye does not always mean that a child has amblyopia. Vision can often be improved by prescribing eyeglasses for a child.
Your ophthalmologist will also carefully examine the interior of the eye to see if other eye diseases may be causing decreased vision. These diseases include:- Cataracts
- Inflammations
- Tumors
- Other disorders of the inner eye
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If amblyopia is not treated, several problems may occur:
- The amblyopic eye may develop a serious and permanent visual defect;
- Depth perception (seeing in three dimensions) may be lost;
- If the good eye becomes diseased or injured, a lifetime of poor vision may be the result.
Children do not like to have their good eye patched or blurred. As a parent, however, you should help your child to do what is best for him or her.
Your interest, involvement and persistence will be necessary for successful treatment.