What Is It?
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Amlyopia is poor vision that did not developed well during
the childhood. It is also known as the "lazy eye". The eye with this syndrome
is known as Amlyopic. Only one of the two eyes is affected by it. This condition
is common with 2% to 3% of the population getting it. The best time to correct
this problem is during childhood and parents should be aware of this problem. |
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| Causes
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Amblyopia is caused by conditions, which
affect the normal use of eye and development. It could also be inherited. Amblyopia
has three major cases:
- Strabismus (misalign eyes): Amblyopia occurs
most commonly with misalign or crossed eyes. The crossed eye "turns off" to avoid
double vision and the child uses only the better eye.
- Unequal Focus (refractive error): Refractive errors are eye conditions that are
corrected by wearing glasses. Amblyopia occurs when one eye is out of focus because
it is more nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatic than the other is. The unfocused
(blurred) eye "turns off" and becomes Amlyopic. The eyes can look normal but one
eye has poor vision. This is the most difficult type of amblyopia to detect and
requires careful measurement of vision.
- Cloudiness in the normally clear eye tissues. An eye disease such as a cataract
(a clouding of the eye's natural lens) may lead to amblyopia. Any factor that
prevents a clear image from being focused inside the eye can lead to the
development of amblyopia in a child. This is often the most severe form of amblyopia.
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| Diagnostics
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It is not easy to recognize Amblyopia. A child may not be
aware of having it unless he or she has misalign eyes or other abnormality.
Amblyopia is detected by finding a difference in vision between the two 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. If one eye is Amlyopic and the good eye
is covered, the baby may attempt to look around the patch, try to pull it off or cry. |
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| Treatment
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To correct amblyopia, a child must be made to use the
weak eye by covering up the strong eye. 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. Glasses may be prescribed to correct errors in
focusing. If glasses alone do not improve vision, then patching is necessary.
Occasionally, amblyopia is treated by blurring the vision in the good eye with
special eye drops or lenses to force the child to use the Amlyopic eye. |
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