Amblyopia

Amblyopia
Table of Contents
Alternative names Definition Causes, Incidence and Risk Factors	Prevention Symptoms Signs & Tests Treatment	Expectations Complications Calling Your health care provider
Alternative Names cycloplegic; lazy eye
Definition A condition in which the vision in the non-dominant eye is poor as a result of a visual abnormality early in life.
Causes, Incidence and Risk Factors Amblyopia is usually first observed in childhood. Amblyopia may be caused by strabismus (crossed eyes), farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism in one eye, or a childhood cataract. The stronger eye becomes dominant and retains good vision, but in the affected eye, the nerve connections between the brain and that eye fail to develop normally, and the brain learns to ignore visual information from that eye. The resulting vision lacks depth perception. Strabismus, the most common cause of amblyopia, appears to run in families.
Prevention Early recognition and treatment of the problem in children can help to prevent permanent visual impairment.
Symptoms vision abnormalities where vision in 1 eye is much worse than the other eyes that may not work together eyes that may appear cross-eyed inability to gauge depth when playing with objects (loss of depth perception)
Signs & Tests visual acuity standard ophthalmic exam
Treatment Nonsurgical treatment involves patching the normal eye in an effort to improve the vision in the weak eye by forcing its use. Eye drops may be used in some cases to improve the vision in the weaker eye. Drops are placed in the good eye to blur its vision thereby forcing the weaker eye to work harder. Sometimes surgery is required to realign the muscles of the eye. Eye glasses may be necessary to correct severe focusing problems.
Expectations (Prognosis) When treatment is completed before age 5 or 6, vision is often close to normal.
Complications Complex problems with muscle alignment may require several surgeries.
Calling your doctor/health care provider Call for an appointment with your health care provider or ophthalmologist if a vision problem is suspected in a young child.