Amblyopia
Amblyopia (commonly called lazy eye) is the medical term for a loss of vision in an apparently healthy eye. This occurs in babies and young children if there is an imbalance between the eyes. In these cases, the child may subconsciously use one eye more often. The other eye will then lose vision due to disuse. An eye imbalance can occur when there is cataract, strabismus, ptosis (droopy eyelid), eye injury or a refractive error that is worse in one eye. Amblyopia usually dose not have symptoms and often is discovered at a school vision screening. It must be treated by an eye doctor before the child is 6 to 10 years old, or the vision loss will be permanent. Treatment encourages the child to use the lazy eye by wearing glasses and/or wearing a patch over the “good eye".
Signs and Symptoms
- None
Treatments and Prevention
- Wearing glasses and/or wearing a patch
UIC Specialists
Any Pedatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Physician
Treatment Clinic/Service
Pedatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor.