What is amblyopia? (lazy eye) it is a neurodevelopmental vision disorder in which the brain fails to recognise vision from one eye leading to decreased vision from that particular eye.
Causes-
- Strabismus ( squint) It is caused by eye muscle misalignment, causing one eye to turn inward/ outward or up/ down. To avoid double vision due to this, the brain suppresses visual signal from this eye.
- Refractive error- there can be significant refractive power difference between the two eyes. The brain favours the eye with more clear vision and ignores the eye giving a blurry vision.
- Eye disease (corneal opacity, congenital cataract) - it can prevent light entering that eye leading to poor vision & gradual suppression of the eye
Symptoms - no symptoms as the stronger eye compensates for the poor vision of other eye.
Signs to look out for- squinting/ tilting of head / poor depth perception
Management- treat underlying cause
A) Refractive error- spectacle correction
B) Strabismus/ Cataract - surgery
C) Occlusion therapy- patching the better eye for a certain period every day makes the brain to use the poor eye and improve vision.
Amblyopia should not be ignored- if left untreated in childhood can lead to permanent vision impairment.
MBH/DB