A lazy eye is a relatively common eye condition that occurs during childhood. The medical term for a lazy eye is amblyopia. The condition occurs when the vision in one of your child's eyes isn't developing the way that it should. If this condition goes untreated, your child's brain will begin ignoring the image coming from that eye. This can cause permanent vision problems.
What Causes a Lazy Eye?
Lazy eyes often occur when one of your child's eyes is much more farsighted than the other. It can also occur if one eye has more astigmatism than the other. If one of a child's eyes doesn't line up the way that it should, it is called strabismus. This can cause amblyopia as well.
What Are the Symptoms of a Lazy Eye?
There are a few symptoms that your child could exhibit that may suggest that they are suffering from a lazy eye. These symptoms include:
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Eyes that don't appear to work together
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Poor depth perception
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Squinting or closing one eye while focusing
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Head tilting while trying to focus
How Is a Lazy Eye Diagnosed?
This condition can be detected during a pediatric eye exam. When children are young, the optometrist will check the function of their eyes. The eye doctor will check that nothing is blocking the light from coming into their eyes. The doctor will also make sure that both eyes see equally as well and that both eyes move the way that they should. It is important to understand that you cannot tell if your child has amblyopia just by looking at them. This condition can only be detected during an eye exam.
What Is the Treatment for Lazy Eye?
The best lazy eye treatment is to force it to work harder. Your optometrist will recommend that your child wears a patch over the good eye which will force the lazy eye to work and get stronger. If your child needs glasses to correct a refractive error, your optometrist may want to frost one of the lenses so that your child cannot see well out of it. When the lazy eye is forced to work harder, in time, it will begin working in conjunction with the good eye.
It is important that you take your child to Eye Site in Katy & Houston for a pediatric eye exam. This is the best way to determine if your child has a lazy eye or a refractive error. Your child's eyesight is essential to their quality of life; therefore, scheduling regular pediatric eye exams should be a priority.