Lazy Eye Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms, Risks and Treatment

Physical development is a complicated process. Amblyopia is one rarely known condition, which is also known as lazy eye syndrome. When you have this condition, one of your eyes fails to develop the vision it should at a particular age. Without proper treatment, it triggers your brain to avoid images from the weaker eye.

Are you curious to know more about lazy eye syndrome? This article will give you a detailed guide regarding its causes, symptoms and treatment.

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What Is Lazy Eye?

Lazy eye, or amblyopia, occurs when your brain favours the vision of one of your eyes, as the other eye has weak vision. As one of the eyes is not working effectively, there is excessive pressure on the healthy eye. It causes vision impairment and loss of depth perception. The brain often ignores signals from the weaker eye, which can be dangerous.

Usually, the affected eye does not look any different in this disorder. However, it keeps wandering in different directions. While initially it only affects one eye, the vision of both eyes can be affected in certain circumstances. It mainly occurs in children at the age when vision starts developing and improving.

What Are the Different Types of Lazy Eye Syndrome?

Besides, blurring and blocking your child's eyes can cause a lazy eye. Here are the common types of lazy eyes:

Muscle Imbalance (Strabismus Amblyopia): One of the most common types which usually starts with an imbalance in the muscles responsible for positioning the eyes. This causes an imbalance of the eyes, causing them to cross in or turn out. As a result, the two eyes cannot work together.
Differences in Vision Sharpness (Refractive Amblyopia): Another type of lazy eye, which can be caused as your eyes have different sharpness levels. Issues like farsightedness, near-sightedness or astigmatism result in such a condition. You can treat it by wearing glasses with different powered lenses on two eyes.
Deprivation: This causes problems with one eye, such as a cataract or cloudy area in the lens. It can prevent you from having clear vision in that eye. It is a serious condition which requires instant treatment for infants to avoid permanent vision loss.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Lazy Eye?

It is important to identify a lazy eye initially to start the treatment soon. Here are the symptoms of lazy eye, which require immediate attention.

One eye wandering inward or outward
Eyes not working together
Trouble telling the distance of an object
Squinting or shutting one eye
Head tilting
Tendency to bump into objects while walking
Double vision

What Are the Causes of Lazy Eyes?

The nerve pathways in your brain might not function properly, causing lazy eyes. As a result, you are unable to use both your eyes equally. The following factors can force you to rely on one eye more than the other:

Family history of amblyopia
Damaged eye from a traumatic incident
Drooping of an eyelid
Deficiency of Vitamin A
Corneal ulcer or scar
Conditions like farsightedness, near-sightedness, or astigmatism
Glaucoma
Eye surgery

How Is Lazy Eye Diagnosed?

It might be difficult to notice Amblyopia initially, as it does not necessarily look unhealthy. Therefore, it is essential to conduct regular eye exams from genuine diagnostic centres. According to the American Optometric Association, children must get regular eye check-ups between 6 months and 3 years.

For diagnosing a lazy eye, your eye doctor will perform standard eye exams to get detailed access to the vision in both eyes. It can involve the following tests:

The doctor will examine your eyes with a magnifying device.
They might put drops in your eyes to make the pupils look bigger.
You will have to identify letters or shapes as written on a chart.
The doctor will ask you to follow a light in one eye and then both your eyes.

If there is an obstacle in vision clarity or eye muscle strength, your doctor will suggest new tests and conditions. A full eye exam will be required if the condition is serious.

What Are the Risk Factors of Having a Lazy Eye?

Now that you know the meaning of lazy eye, you might wish to learn more about its risk factors. Here are the factors that put an individual at risk of lazy eye:

Premature birth
Family history of lazy eye
Small size and malnourishment at birth
Disabilities in physical development

How to Treat Lazy Eye Syndrome?

The treatment of a lazy eye can be multi-fold. Identifying the underlying eye conditions is important for treating and avoiding a lazy eye. Initially, the treatment measures are simple, which might become complicated with time.

1. Glasses or Contacts

If your kid has amblyopia because he/she is near-sighted or farsighted, the doctor will likely suggest glasses or contact lenses. It is also suggested if a kid has astigmatism in one eye. Doctors use different powered lenses to balance the sharpness of both eyes.

2. Eye Patch

If one of your eyes is weaker than the other, wearing an eye patch on the healthy eye helps to strengthen the other. It is also beneficial to avoid excess pressure on the healthy eye. Doctors usually suggest wearing a patch for 1-2 hours a day, depending on the severity of your amblyopia.

3. Medicines and Eye Drops

Doctors suggest medication in most cases. Eye drops are commonly prescribed. You will receive these drops once or twice a day to cloud your healthy eye to create a balance between the two.

4. Surgery

Doctors suggest surgery if you develop a cataract that blocks light from your eyes or strabismus that prevents your eyes from moving together normally. If the eyes are pointed in opposite directions, doctors might suggest surgeries for your eye muscles.

What Is the Outlook for People Suffering from Lazy Eye?

Usually, a lazy eye is not a dangerous condition. In most cases, children with amblyopia can significantly improve their vision if parents identify and treat it at the right time. As it cannot be cured completely, the goal is to improve the eyesight as much as possible. However, a lazy eye can cause serious vision impairment, leading to permanent vision loss if left untreated.

Therefore, as you can see, lazy eye syndrome can be a simple disorder leading to permanent damage. As this article pointed out, you should identify the symptoms in the early days and start the treatment to avoid such complications. It will help your kid to improve his/her vision with proper guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Can you prevent amblyopia?

You cannot prevent amblyopia, as its causes are not in your control. However, you can prevent it from getting worse with the help of regular check-ups and timely treatment.

What are the best eye exercises if my child has lazy eye syndrome?

You can ask your child to fill colours between the lines or focus on a pencil as you move it away and bring it near his/her nose. You can also play puzzles with the kid while keeping a patch on the stronger eye.