Amblyopia, or a Lazy Eye, is the loss or lack of development of central vision in one eye that is not correctable with lenses. It can result from a failure to use both eyes together. Lazy eye is often associated with crossed-eyes or a large difference in the degree of nearsightedness or farsightedness between the two eyes. It usually develops before the age of 6, and it does not affect peripheral vision. For this reason, early diagnosis is critical and increases the chance for a complete recovery.
Symptoms of Amblyopia
Symptoms of Amblyopia are not always so obvious. These may include a general tendency to favor one eye over the other, and less often finding yourself bumping into objects on one side.
Treatment of Amblyopia
The treatment for a lazy eye tend to include a variety of approaches including prescription lenses, prisms, vision therapy and eye patching. Vision therapy assists those with a lazy eye to learn how to train their eyes to work together; however amblyopia must be diagnosed early in order for most therapy to have a chance of working. We recommend an eye exam with an ophthalmologist before age 5 even if a child has no visual symptoms.