Lazy eyes - Amblyopia

Lazy eyes ( amblyopia) does not belong to the category of refractive disorders but functional ones. We can define it as the decrease of the vision sharpness caused by slump in the inactivity of the human eye. The eyesight centre in the brain does not process the information coming from the handicapped eye but receives visual stimuli only from the second eye.

Amblyopia is formed mainly in childhood when the spot of the sharpest vision is being developed – macula. It often develops in connection with a squint and other refractive disorders but can be present even without them. The formation of lazy eyes can be caused also by a bandage worn on one eye for a longer period of time.

The family, the environment or the child itself might not observe the problem for a long time until the stronger eye is accidentally covered. Bad vision is usually discovered during medical examination.

As far as the treatment is concerned, the definite effective medication for lazy eyes does not exist. It is possible to influence it only during certain age (between 3rd and 9th year of life) by specific exercises but in later years the changes are irreversible. This means that amblyopia can be treated completely or partially only in earlier years and when it is diagnosed early.

The aim is to force the lazy eye to be active. It is done in such a way that the healthy eye is excluded from vision. Its exclusion is achieved through a cover, in other words by occlusion through the occlusor, which is attached to glasses or affixed directly to the eye. We can use also a plaster or opaque contact lens.

We begin to cover the eye as early as possible because the possibility of achieving improved vision radically decreases after the 6th year of life. It is important to cover the stronger eye for a long period of time, firstly to gain good vision sharpness and later to maintain vision which has been gained. The period of covering the eye becomes shorter with the respect to the improvement of vision. In the beginning of the treatment the eye can be covered during the whole day but approaching the end it is covered approximately for one hour. The prognosis of successfulness of the cure of lazy eyes depends on the early discovery of the disorder and immediate beginning of the treatment.

It is vital that the process of the treatment of amblyopia is approached with the responsibility and patience because the future of the child is at stake. It is essential to realize that untreated lazy eyes, with which the child is entering the life, means the inability of spatial vision and in practice only one functional eye. This fact influences his studying possibilities, sport activities; furthermore it limits his career choices and influences his future.