$Unique_ID{PAR00116}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Medical Advice:  Lazy Eye}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Chasnoff, Ira J}
$Subject{Lazy Eye Eyes not parallel different colored Pupils Pupil colors
color judge distance amblyopia exanopsia double vision loss nearsighted
nearsightedness farsighted farsightedness astigmatism congenital cataract lens
clouding cornea scars judging distances cocks head ophthalmologist eye patch
patching eye drop drops glasses}
$Log{}

Your Child:  A Medical Guide


Lazy Eye


     Quick Reference

     SYMPTOMS
     - Eyes are not parallel.
     - Pupils of the eyes are different colors.
     - Child has trouble judging distance.
     - Child cocks head or moves face in an effort to see clearly.

     HOME CARE
     - Home care cannot be undertaken until a doctor has diagnosed the
       condition.

     PRECAUTIONS
     - A child whose eyes are not parallel all or most of the time should be
       seen by a doctor.
     - If lazy eye is not diagnosed and treated, the condition can become
       permanent.
     - Have your child's eyes checked every year after the age of three or
       four.


     A "lazy eye" is one in which the vision is poor because the brain has
suppressed the image received by that eye.  Known technically as amblyopia ex
anopsia, it is basically a loss of vision from lack of use.  Most cases of
lazy eye result from weakness of one or more of the six small muscles that
move the eyeball.  Eye muscle weaknesses can cause the eyes to turn in or out
in relation to each other.  This can lead to the child's seeing double.  If a
young child learns to ignore one of the double images, a loss of vision in the
unused eye results.
     In other cases of lazy eye, the eye muscles are normal but the vision is
poor in one eye.  To compensate, the child may learn to ignore the poor image
received.  This can result from marked nearsightedness or farsightedness,
astigmatism, or other interference with vision in one eye.  Such interference
might be caused by a congenital cataract (clouding of the lens of the eye) or
scars on the cornea (the transparent front part of the eye).

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

     Lazy eye should be suspected when the eyes are not parallel all or most
of the time, or are parallel less and less often.  See your doctor if your
child's eyes are not parallel, if the pupils of the eyes are different colors,
if your child is over two years old and has trouble seeing or judging
distances when reaching for an object, or if your child cocks his head to one
side or turns his face to see better (the child may be compensating for double
vision).

HOME CARE

     No home treatment for lazy eye is advised until a doctor has diagnosed
the condition.

PRECAUTIONS

  -  Be watchful for lazy eye so that if the condition occurs in your child,
     you can catch it in time for treatment to be successful.
  -  Have your child's vision checked each year after the age of three or
     four.  Lazy eye can be treated successfully in children up to the age of
     seven.  If the condition is left untreated, however, it may become
     permanent.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

     Your doctor will inspect the insides and outsides of both eyes and test
their movements in all directions.  If the child is old enough to understand
directions, the doctor can check the vision, using a letter or picture chart.
A younger child's vision should be checked by an ophthalmologist, who can use
a system that does not require the child to follow instructions.
     Lazy eye is corrected either by patching the good eye or by hindering the
vision in the good eye with eye drops or glasses.  When the good eye is
blocked, the child is forced to use the lazy eye.  As a final resort, surgery
is sometimes necessary.

RELATED TOPICS:  Crossed eyes; Vision problems