Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesTreatmentDiagnosisVision ProblemsDaily Management
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Treatment
Diagnosis
Vision Problems
Daily Management
If you or your child has alazy eye(amblyopia), one eye is sending unclear images to the brain. while both eyes can be affected, usually amblyopia affects just one eye, with the brain relying on the stronger eye for visual information.
A lazy eye, which some people are born with, is the primary source of vision loss in kids, but adults with vision trouble in one of their eyes also can develop lazy eye later in life.
This article will discuss the causes of lazy eye, vision problems it causes, diagnosis, treatment, and management.
How Do You Get Lazy Eye?
Lazy eye can develop anytime an eye is not functioning properly and fails to send sharp images to the brain. It is most common in young children. The condition affects up to 3 out of 100 children.Typically this happens in the following instances:
These eye conditions are more likely to occur in some people than others. Those at risk for developing a lazy eye include children who were premature at birth or had a low birth weight and those who come from families where someone else has amblyopia.
Treatment: Can You “Fix” a Lazy Eye?
Effectively treating a lazy eye means first understanding what’s causing it while aiming to correct the vision in the weaker eye. Treatment is particularly effective in children under the age 7 whose vision is still developing. Some treatments to consider include:
Eye doctors, such as ophthalmologists, encourage early treatment.Seek treatment even if the lazy eye is not discovered until later or there is some other obstacle. Don’t consider it to be too late.
Research suggests that even adults can potentially improve their vision. Although it was once believed that the vision center of the adult brain could not hold on to any new experiences or information, research has shown that this is not true, and it is possible to improve vision somewhat.
Identifying Lazy Eye
It helps to know the symptoms of lazy eye to be able to identify it in your child or yourself. Symptoms can be subtle and include:
Because signs in children may be subtle and difficult to discern, it’s important to take children between the ages of 3 and 5 for regular vision screenings.
The cause of lazy eye will determine whether and when surgery is needed. For instance, if an infant has a dense cataract, surgery will need to be performed right away. But if the child is older and the cataract is just a small dot, the eye doctor may try other measures first, like patching the eye that doesn’t have the cataract.
For children with strabismus (depending on their age), the eye surgeon may want to performeye muscle surgeryas early as possible. Those under age 4 tend to have better outcomes than older children.
Vision Problems With Lazy Eye
If children with lazy eye are treated early enough (before age 5), they tend to recover fully, with no lingering vision problems. But if treatment is delayed, the child may have problems withdepth perception. Those over age 10 may only recover some vision with treatment and may have some permanent vision loss in the affected eye.
Keep in mind that the impairment in the eye can be mild, with vision in the 20/30 range, or severe, leaving the child legally blind in the eye with 20/200 vision.
Amblyopia Daily Management
In many cases, amblyopia is managed daily with treatments like using drops or patching the stronger eye for a period of time.
If patching is used, you’ll initially be asked to cover the stronger eye for about two hours daily. The eye doctor will then monitor vision every six to 12 weeks. If there is not enough improvement, you or your child will be asked to wear the patch up to six hours daily.
Getting a child to keep a patch on can be challenging but is of utmost importance. Some strategies to try if a child resists include the following:
The use of atropine drops is an alternative to patching. Each day a drop is placed in the stronger eye to widen thepupil. It then forces the other eye to be used for close-up tasks like reading.
Also, each day you can encourage your child to perform eye exercises to strengthen the weaker eye, such as the following:
These can be fun exercises for your child and work to alleviate lazy eye.
Summary
Amblyopia (lazy eye) usually affects one eye. With this, the brain begins to rely on vision signals from the stronger eye and ignore those from the weaker, “lazy” one. Reasons why a lazy eye may develop include a cataract, which makes it difficult to see out of the eye; strabismus, in which the eyes are focusing on different points; and a difference in refractive error, in which one eye sees better than the other.
Treatment ranges from patching the stronger eye or blurring with drops, to surgery to remove any obstruction that may cause the vision to be unclear, such as a cataract or drooping lid.
13 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Eye Institute.Amblyopia (lazy eye).Stanford Medicine.Causes and risk factors for lazy eye.National Health Service.Lazy eye.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: what is lazy eye?National Health Service.Orthoptic exercises young person.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: types, diagnosis, treatment, and new perspectives.Levi DM.Rethinking amblyopia 2020.Vision Res. 2020;176:118-129. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2020.07.014Mount Sinai.Amblyopia.Boston Children’s Hospital.Amblyopia.Review of Optometry.Recommended strabismus surgery as early as possible.NVision.The cost of strabismus surgery or correction.Penn Medicine.Amblyopia (lazy eye).American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia treatment modalities.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Eye Institute.Amblyopia (lazy eye).Stanford Medicine.Causes and risk factors for lazy eye.National Health Service.Lazy eye.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: what is lazy eye?National Health Service.Orthoptic exercises young person.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: types, diagnosis, treatment, and new perspectives.Levi DM.Rethinking amblyopia 2020.Vision Res. 2020;176:118-129. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2020.07.014Mount Sinai.Amblyopia.Boston Children’s Hospital.Amblyopia.Review of Optometry.Recommended strabismus surgery as early as possible.NVision.The cost of strabismus surgery or correction.Penn Medicine.Amblyopia (lazy eye).American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia treatment modalities.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Eye Institute.Amblyopia (lazy eye).Stanford Medicine.Causes and risk factors for lazy eye.National Health Service.Lazy eye.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: what is lazy eye?National Health Service.Orthoptic exercises young person.American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: types, diagnosis, treatment, and new perspectives.Levi DM.Rethinking amblyopia 2020.Vision Res. 2020;176:118-129. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2020.07.014Mount Sinai.Amblyopia.Boston Children’s Hospital.Amblyopia.Review of Optometry.Recommended strabismus surgery as early as possible.NVision.The cost of strabismus surgery or correction.Penn Medicine.Amblyopia (lazy eye).American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia treatment modalities.
National Eye Institute.Amblyopia (lazy eye).
Stanford Medicine.Causes and risk factors for lazy eye.
National Health Service.Lazy eye.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: what is lazy eye?
National Health Service.Orthoptic exercises young person.
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia: types, diagnosis, treatment, and new perspectives.
Levi DM.Rethinking amblyopia 2020.Vision Res. 2020;176:118-129. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2020.07.014
Mount Sinai.Amblyopia.
Boston Children’s Hospital.Amblyopia.
Review of Optometry.Recommended strabismus surgery as early as possible.
NVision.The cost of strabismus surgery or correction.
Penn Medicine.Amblyopia (lazy eye).
American Academy of Ophthalmology.Amblyopia treatment modalities.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
