Lazy eye
Lazy eye (also referred to as amblyopia) is a condition that starts in childhood and occurs when vision in one eye is impaired. It鈥檚 called 鈥榣azy eye鈥� because the stronger eye works more effectively. Although, less commonly, both eyes can be affected.
Early treatment tends to work well and usually prevents long-term vision problems. However, lazy eye can persist into adulthood.
What causes lazy eye?
Lazy eye develops when there鈥檚 a breakdown in the way that the brain and the eye work together. Over time, the brain relies more and more on the stronger eye, while vision in the weaker eye gets worse.
There are multiple factors that can contribute to this process:
- a squint (strabismus)
- anisometropia (a difference in the focus/sharpness of vision between the eyes, due to differing refractive error)
- high refractive error in both eyes (usually due to long-sightedness, or astigmatism when the cornea, the window of the eye, has rugby-ball-shaped rather than football-shaped curvature in one or both eyes)
- damage to the retina or optic nerve in one eye
- a family history of the condition
- a droopy eyelid (also known as ptosis), which prevents you from seeing out of one eye
- a problem with one eye 鈥� such as a cloudy area in the lens (cataract) 鈥� which prohibits clear vision in that eye
Lazy eye treatments
Treatment options depend on the cause of your lazy eye and on the extent of the visual impairment.
Lazy eye can be difficult to treat in adulthood because the connections between the brain and the eye have already developed. However, in children, they are still developing, so there is time to strengthen or redirect them.
The treatments below can help to manage the symptoms of a lazy eye or correct other issues caused by a lazy eye. In turn, this can help to significantly improve your quality of life.
Your consultant might recommend:
- corrective eyewear 鈥� glasses or contact lenses can be used to correct problems such as shortsightedness, longsightedness, or astigmatism that result in lazy eye
- eye patches 鈥� to stimulate the connections between the lazy eye and the brain, you may be recommended to wear an eye patch over the eye with better vision for a certain number of hours each day
- Bangerter filter 鈥� if you wear or are prescribed glasses, this filter can be placed on the eyeglass lens of the stronger eye. The filter works like an eye patch by blurring the stronger eye to stimulate the weaker eye, or to blur the weaker eye to reduce visual confusion or double vision
- eyedrops 鈥� a medication called atropine, which is administered as an eyedrop, can also temporarily blur vision in the stronger eye to stimulate the weaker eye. This provides an alternative to an eye patch, though side effects include sensitivity to light and eye irritation
- surgery 鈥� if you have droopy eyelids, cataracts or a squint which are contributing to your lazy eye, you may need surgery to correct the issue. To learn more, see our dedicated pages on eyelid surgery, squint surgery and cataract surgery
- other therapy 鈥� a range of different techniques, such as using prism lenses which improve the way your eye reflects light or Botox injections to help align your eyes, which can be used to retrain and improve the visual system
- vision therapy 鈥� there are now treatments (such as dichoptic treatment, vision training and virtual reality goggles) being investigated to try to improve the vision in adults with a lazy eye. Your specialist at AOA体育平台 Eye Centre will be able to update you and give you an opinion on whether you might benefit from these treatments.
Your recovery timeline will depend on the treatment you鈥檙e having.