Amblyopia: Lazy Eye
What is Amblyopia?
A condition that affects children mostly. Amblyopia occurs when amount of light entering one eye is less which causes different qualities of vision making the eye weaker than the other. Eventually, the brain learns to prioritize images received from the healthy eye and ignore the weaker eye.
Why does it happen?
Amblyopia happens due to many conditions that affect the sight:
- Long /Short-sightedness: Difficulty to focus properly.Ability to force the strong eye to work harder making the other eye easy.
- Squint: misalignment of the eyes caused by problems with eye muscles.
- Congenital cataracts: Congenital cataracts in one eye makes the eye weak by causing a cloudy vision. this condition makes the other eye work harder.
Symptoms
- Less vision with the affected eye.
- Holding head at awkward angles to see far objects.
- Habit of squinting.
Treatment
It is simple to treat but may take a long time. If left untreated, the vision may be permanently affected. Prescription glasses enhances the focus of the weaker eye. The healthy eye may need to be covered, to uplift the function of the affected eye.
