Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is the most common condition causing poor vision in children. It arises as a result of suppression of the vision from the poorly focused eye (eye with refractive errors), or eye with misalignment (cross eye, or outward turning of the eye) by the developing brain in children less than 7 - 8 years of age. If seen and treated early, almost all of those children suffering from amblyopia will regain normal vision. On the other hand, if left untreated, or if there is a delay in getting treatment, the child will be left with permanent visual impairment in the amblyopic eye and will lose the ability to see 3 dimensionally or lose his or her “3D” vision (stereopsis).
As a result, those children will have limitations in their future career choices. We recommend you have your child checked if you have any concerns in this regard as soon as possible.

Causes of Amblyopia
The most common causes for amblyopia are focus errors in the eye, such as long-sightedness (Hypermetropia), focus difference between two eyes (Anisometropia) and rarely near-sightedness (Myopia).
The next most common cause of amblyopia is Strabismus (squint). This can be “cross eye” (convergent strabismus), or outward turning of eye (divergent strabismus).
Other causes include congenital cataract (opacity of the lens inside the eye) or drooping eyelids (ptosis).
 

Treatment of Amblyopia
The correct treatment depends on the exact cause of amblyopia; this can only be identified after a thorough examination of the eye. In many children, simply by correcting their eye focus with the aid of glasses will improve their vision. Some will need to use eye patching to force the child to use the poor sighted eye (amblyopic eye) and by doing so the vision in the amblyopic eye will be improved. There are other options for treating amblyopia and Eye Doctors will guide you and your child through the entire process of treatment based on your child’s specific ocular condition.