Amblyopia or “lazy eye” affects about 1 in 20 children and can lead to the loss of useful vision in one eye.  Amblyopia is treatable, if caught early in life, which is why a comprehensive vision exam is so important for your school aged or preschool aged child.  Did you know…

• There are different types of amblyopia, not all children with amblyopia have an eye turn.
• Many cases of amblyopia go undetected each year, which can lead to permanent vision loss.
• With early detection and treatment, amblyopic patients can have normal vision.
• Amblyopia causes more vision loss in people under 45 years old than all the injuries and diseases in this age group, and is completely curable with early detection.
• It is once believed that amblyopia could only be treated before age 6.  A new study by the NIH shows that treatment can help regain vision in patients up to 17 years old.

Amblyopia can be caused by an eye turn (strabismic amblyopia), a difference in how nearsighted or farsighted the patients two eyes are (refractive amblyopia), or blockage of light to one eye of the patient by a congenital cataract or droopy eyelid (deprivation amblyopia).  When a child has one of these amblyogenic factors, the brain shuts off the eye that is more blurry so the child doesn’t have one clear image and one blurry image, or double vision.  If left untreated, the brain will permanently shut off the connections from the lazy eye, which results in permanent loss of vision.  Amblyopia is treated by correcting the amblyogenic factor and patching the child’s good eye for a specified period of time each day.  Patching the good eye forces the child to use their “lazy eye” and re-establish connections between that eye and the brain to restore the child’s vision.

Early detection is important in treating amblyopia.  Correction before age 5 will give the best chance for your child’s vision to be “normal”. 

Your child may be at an increased risk for amblyopia if they have:

• An amblyogenic factor present (eye turn, difference in refractive error between the two eyes, or blockage of one eye).
• Another family member with an eye turn or amblyopia.
• A history or low birth weight or premature birth.

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Last modified: 11/12/06