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Amblyopia

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What Is The Amblyopia Definition?

Amblyopia or lazy eye is when the vision of one eye, or occasionally both eyes, does not develop fully. Amblyopia is the most common cause for reduced vision in young children due to uncorrected glasses errors (such as long sight, short sight or astigmatism), squints or a combination of both.

What Is Amblyopia Treatment?

Amblyopia can sometimes be improved just with glasses. However, if glasses are not needed or more help is needed once your child has adapted to their glasses, occlusion may be needed (otherwise known as patching). This is when the stronger eye (eye with better vision) is covered with a patch which makes the weaker, lazy eye have to work harder and so improves the vision. Sometimes amblyopia can be caused by a cataract or a droopy eyelid (ptosis) and this may need to be treated first in order to help improve the vision.

How To Fix Amblyopia

If amblyopia is suspected, it is important for your child to be seen quickly by an orthoptist as visual development finishes by the age of 8 years. The sooner it is diagnosed, the quicker treatment can begin and the better the outcome will be.