What is Amblyopia?
Amblyopia is a condition where central visual acuity of an apparently healthy eye is
reduced because of lack of use during early childhood, from birth up to the age of seven.
Sometimes known as "lazy eye", it is usually due to an eye muscle problem or due to an
inequality between the two eyes. Often it occurs because the "good" eye is preferred.
If normal vision is to develop during infancy and childhood, clear and corresponding must
focus on the retina and then pass as nerve impulses to the brain. If no images are received,
normal vision cannot develop. If the images received from the two eyes are different, the
brain will supress one to avoid double vision and normal vision might therefore not
develop properly in that eye.
In order to reduce the possibility of amblyopia, it is important to intervene before the child
is seven. An eye examination will uncover a predisposition towards amblyopia, and early
intervention often results in improved vision. Treatment consists of patching the good eye
and exercising the amblyopic or lazy eye to encourage its development.
Patching the eye does not "fix" eyes that are misaligned, however once vision has been
restored or developed in the "lazy eye", the ophthalmologist may evaluate muscle surgery
as a means to correct the misalignment.
A patient with amblyopia may have no visual complaints because the vision in the fellow
eye may be excellent. For this reason it is important that all young children have a
comprehensive vision examination prior to entering school.
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