A – Z of Illnesses & Conditions

Lazy Eye, Amblyopia: Amblyopia commonly called lazy eye is a condition in children when vision does not develop properly in one eye. If left untreated, a child's vision will never develop correctly in that eye. Vision impairment becomes permanent when the child’s brain matures. Therefore it is essential to have a child with amblyopia regularly tested by an eye doctor.

Amblyopia usually starts when one eye has much better focus than the other eye. One eye might be very nearsighted or have a lot of astigmatism, while the other does not. When a child's brain is confronted with both a blurry image and a clear one, it begins to ignore the blurry image. If this goes on for months or years, the vision in the eye that sees the blurry image will deteriorate.

Another cause of amblyopia is strabismus which is an ocular misalignment, meaning that one eye turns inward or outward. This prevents the eyes from focusing together on an image and may cause double vision. To combat this, the child's brain generally chooses to ignore the image from the deviated eye, causing the vision in that eye to deteriorate. This misalignment of the eyes makes some people call amblyopia "lazy eye".

Lazy Eye, Cross Eye, Squint or Strabismus:  Lazy eye also known as cross eye, squint or strabismus is a visual defect in which one eye cannot focus with the other on an object because of imbalance of the eye muscles. It is a very common vision problem and the recommended treatment for it is to wear corrective glasses.

You should see your doctor if you are concerned about your child's eyesight as they can refer your child for further testing by an eye specialist (opthalmologist).