Amblyopia – also known as “lazy eye”, is a condition that occurs usually in childhood when the vision in one eye does not develop properly.
Amblyopia occurs when poor vision in one eye causes the brain to ignore the visual signals from that eye and instead use the other eye to see. The condition usually affects the vision from one eye only, but can occasionally affect both.
If left untreated, Amblyopia can lead to a permanent loss of vision in the affected eye.
Treatment
Lazy eye can usually be treated successfully as long as it is diagnosed early enough.
The underlying problem causing the lazy eye is corrected first. That might be by wearing glasses to correct a squint.
The child then is encouraged to start using the affected eye again. This is typically done by wearing an eye patch over the stronger eye or by using eyedrops to temporarily impair the vision in the stronger eye.
Regular eye tests for children with an optician are very important in picking up this condition early so that it can be treated effectively.