What is amblyopia?
Amblyopia (lazy eye) is poor vision in an eye that did not develop normally during childhood. It commonly affects one eye but may also involve both eyes. It is generally caused by lack of use of one eye, when brain 'favors' one eye over the other.
What causes amblyopia?
The visual system of the child is not fully developed at birth. The visual brain cells of a child are developing during their first decade of life. Any insult to the child's vision during this time period can lead to amblyopia.
Following are the common causes of amblyopia:
Squint: This is the commonest cause of amblyopia. The brain to avoid double vision ignores the image from the deviating eye. This leads to poor visual development of the deviating eye and hence amblyopia.
Unequal refractive error (anisometropia): In this condition, the two eyes have different refractive errors. Because the brain can not "balance" this difference, it picks the eye that is "easier" to use and develops a preference for this eye only. The eye with greater refractive error is suppressed and thus gets amblyopic. An early treatment by giving the right glasses for correction can prevent and correct this problem.
Stimulus deprivation: Any form of stimulus derivation to either one or both eyes in early childhood may lead to a severe form of amblyopia. These causes for stimulus deprivation may be ptosis, cataract, glaucoma, patching or any other obstacle that blocks the vision in the eye.
How can we detect if the child has amblyopia?
Detecting amblyopia in child is difficult, as the child may not be aware of having one strong eye and one weak eye. If the child has a squint or some other abnormality, the parents may notice that something is wrong. The vision of the child can be tested by the ophthalmologist by special tests. Poor vision in an eye may point towards a possibility of amblyopia. Remember, poor vision in an eye does not always mean amblyopia. It is important to rule out other causes of poor vision in child.
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