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What
is lazy eye?
Lazy eye (Amblyopia) is poor vision in an eye that did not
develop normal sight during early childhood. The surgeons
at Halpin - Poweleit Eye Center, located in Cincinnati Ohio,
specialize in the detection and treatment of lazy eye.
When one eye develops good vision while the other does not,
the eye with poorer vision is called amblyopic. Usually
only one eye is affected by lazy eye.
The condition is common, affecting approximately 2 or 3
out of every 100 people. The best time to correct lazy eye
is during infancy or early childhood.
How does normal vision develop?
Newborn infants are able to see, but as they use their eyes
during the first months of life, vision improves. During
early childhood years, the visual system changes quickly
and vision continues to develop. |
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If
a child cannot use his or her eyes normally, vision
does not develop properly and may even decrease. After
the first nine years of life, the visual system is
usually fully developed and usually cannot be changed. |
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The
development of equal vision in both eyes is necessary for
normal vision.
Many occupations are not open to people who have good vision
in one eye only.
If the vision in one eye should be lost later in life from
an accident or illness it is essential that the other eye
have normal vision. Without normal vision in at least one
eye, a person is visually impaired.
For all of these reasons, lazy eye must be detected and
treated as early as possible. The doctors at Halpin - Poweleit
Eye Center, with offices conveniently located in the Cincinnati
area, can perform tests, and determine if you need treatment
for lazy eye.
When should vision be tested?
It is recommended that all children have their vision checked
at or before their fourth birthday.
Most physicians test vision as part of a child's medical
examination. They may refer a child to an ophthalmologist
if there is any sign of an eye condition.
New techniques available at Halpin - Poweleit Eye Center make it possible to test vision in infants and young children.
If there is a family history of misaligned eyes, childhood
cataracts or a serious eye disease, an ophthalmologist can
check vision even earlier than age three.
What causes lazy eye?
Lazy eye is caused by any condition that affects normal
use of the eyes and visual development. In many case, the
conditions associated with lazy eye may be inherited. Children
in a family with a history of lazy eye or misaligned eyes
should be checked by an ophthalmologist early in life.
Lazy eye has three major causes:
Strabismus (misaligned eyes)
Lazy eye occurs most commonly with misaligned or crossed
eyes. The crossed eye "turns off" to avoid double vision
and the child uses only the better eye.
Unequal forces (Refractive error)
Refractive errors are eye conditions that are corrected
by wearing glasses. Lazy eye occurs when one eye is out
of focus because it is more nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatic
that the outlet. |
The
unfocused (blurred) eye "turns off" and becomes amblyopic.
The eyes can look normal but one eye has poor vision.
This is the most difficult type of lazy eye to detect
since it requires careful measurement of vision.
Cloudiness in the normally clear eye tissues
An eye disease such as a cataract (clouding of the
eye's natural lens) may lead to lazy eye. Any factor
that prevents a clear image from being focused inside
the eye can lead to the development of lazy eye in
a child. This is often the most severe form of lazy
eye. |
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How
is lazy eye diagnosed?
It is not easy to recognize lazy eye. A child may not be
aware of having one strong eye and one weak eye. Unless
the child has a misaligned eye or other obvious abnormality,
there is often no way for parents to tell that something
is wrong.
Lazy eye is detected by finding a difference in vision between
the two eyes. Since it is difficult to measure vision in
young children, your ophthalmologist often estimates visual
acuity by watching how well a baby follows objects with
one eye when the other eye is covered.
Using a variety of tests, the ophthalmologist observes the
reactions of the baby when one eye is covered. If one eye
is amblyopic and the good eye is covered, the baby may attempt
to look around the patch, try to pull it off or cry.
Poor vision in one eye does not always mean that a child
has lazy eye. Vision can often be improved by prescribing
glasses for a child.
Your ophthalmologist will also carefully examine the interior
of the eye to see if other eye diseases may be causing decreased
vision. These diseases include:
- Cataracts;
- Inflammations;
- Tumors;
- Other disorders of the inner eye.
How is lazy eye treated?
To correct lazy eye, a child must be made to use the weak
eye. This is usually done by patching or covering the strong
eye, often for weeks or months.
Even after vision has been restored in the weak eye, part-time
patching may be required over a period of years to maintain
the improvement.
Glasses may be prescribed to correct errors in focusing.
If glasses alone do not improve vision, then patching is
necessary. |
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Occasionally,
lazy eye is treated by blurring the vision in the
good eye with special eye drops or lenses to force
the child to use the amblyopic eye.
Lazy eye is usually treated before surgery to correct
misaligned eyes, and patching is often continued after
surgery as well. |
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If a cataract or other abnormality is found, surgery may
be required to correct the problem. An intraocular lens
may be implanted. After surgery, glasses or contact lenses
can be used to restore focusing, while patching improves
vision.
Lazy eye cannot usually be cured by treating the cause
alone. The weaker eye must be made stronger in order to
see normally. Prescribing glasses or performing surgery
can correct the cause of lazy eye, but your ophthalmologist
must also treat the lazy eye.
If lazy eye is not treated, several problems may occur:
- The amblyopic eye may develop a serious and permanent
visual defect;
- Depth perception (seeing in three dimensions) may be lost;
- If the good eye becomes diseased or injured, a lifetime
of poor vision may be the result.
Your ophthalmologist can give you instructions on how to
treat lazy eye, but it is up to you and your child to carry
out this treatment.
Children do not like to have their eyes patched, especially
if they have been depending on the eye being patched to
see clearly. But as a parent, you must convince your child
to do what is best for him or her.
Successful treatment mostly depends on your interest and
involvement, as well as your ability to gain your child's
cooperation. In most cases, parents play an important role
in determining whether their child's' lazy eye is to be
corrected.
Loss of vision is preventable
Success in the treatment of lazy eye also depends upon:
- How severe the lazy eye is;
- How old the child is when treatment is begun.
If the problem is detected and treated early, vision can
improve for most children. Sometimes part-time treatment
may have to continue until the child is about nine years
of age. After this time, lazy eye usually does not recur.
If lazy eye is first discovered after early childhood, treatment
may not be successful. Lazy eye caused by strabismus or
unequal refractive errors may be treated successfully at
a much older age than the lazy eye caused by cloudiness
in tissues in the eye.
If you have additional questions or would like any further
information, contact your ophthalmologist. |
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