What Is Amblyopia?

The eyes start to develop at a young age. In fact, the vast majority of vision develops before the age of ten. Because of this, any threat to vision can actually prevent vision from developing properly. When this occurs, amblyopia results.

The term “lazy eye” can refer to a few different things; one of them is when one eye just doesn’t see as good as the other. This is what amblyopia is. One eye developed great 20/20 vision with or without glasses while the other just doesn’t see as well. That other eye may only see 20/25, or that other eye may be much worse. The usual thing about amblyopia is that it isn’t bothersome. Because the good eye developed fine, it takes over pretty much all vision tasks and brain just simply ignores that the other eye isn’t as sharp.

Can amblyopia be prevented? Absolutely! There are a few things which can lead to the development of amblyopia. Crossing of the eyes, cataracts in childhood and abnormal prescriptions or very large astigmatism are a few common causes. These conditions are typically correctable by a pediatric eye doctor. If amblyopia has already started to set in, a patch is placed over the good eye in order to force the child to use their weaker eye (much easier said than done, though, kids don’t like patches!) However, time is a factor. Amblyopia must be treated early before the eye finishes developing. Amblyopia found closer to the age of ten is much harder to reverse.

So, if amblyopia isn’t bothersome, what’s the point? The main reason to prevent amblyopia is to allow the function of two good eyes. Two good eyes works a little better than one good eye. Also, with two good eyes, if you unfortunately lose vision in one eye, you still have the other as backup. And pertinent in my field, patients with amblyopia aren’t good candidates for refractive surgery. While refractive surgery has become very safe and reliable, nothing in life is every 100% and that risk is magnified when there is only one good eye. Thus, amblyopia remains important to diagnose and treat.

Related Articles