Amblyopia is a condition in which poor
vision is present in one eye. Commonly referred to by many
people as a "lazy eye," amblyopia affects over 2%
of the general population and causes loss of vision in more
people under age 45 than all eye diseases and trauma combined.
Therefore, early recognition and prompt treatment of amblyopia
is very important.
In early childhood, the connections between the eyes and
the brain are developing. The brain must learn how to put
together information sent from both eyes and make one picture.
However, if the image from one eye is clear and the other
blurry, or if the eyes are misaligned and send two different
pictures, the brain will ignore the picture sent from one
eye. A condition called amblyopia results when the brain consistently
ignores the information from the same eye. Using the analogy
of the eye as a camera and the brain as the photo processing
machinery, the problem causing amblyopia is not that the camera
(eye) is defective, but that the photo processor (brain) is
not properly developing the "film" it is receiving.
Amblyopia can only be treated in early childhood, when the
brain is learning to pay attention to the input from each
eye. Usually, treatment will consist of patching the eye that
sees better, forcing the brain to pay attention to the eye
with poor vision. Glasses also may be needed to help the eyes
see more clearly or straighten alignment. Children are most
sensitive to developing amblyopia during the first 2 to 3
years of life, after which this sensitivity gradually decreases.
After age 9, it is unusual for treatment to significantly
improve visual acuity in an eye with amblyopia. Therefore,
vision screening is very important in early childhood in order
to determine whether amblyopia is present, since often there
are no clues. As long as one eye sees well, you may not find
out that the other doesn't until it's too late.
Ask your child's physician or pediatric ophthalmologist if
there is any sign of amblyopia. Don't wait until it's too
late for your child's eyes.
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