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Amblyopia Causes and Risks:
Amblyopia is usually first observed in childhood. Amblyopia may be caused by strabismus ( crossed eyes ), farsightedness , nearsightedness , astigmatism in one eye, or a childhood cataract . The stronger eye becomes dominant and retains good vision, but in the affected eye, the nerve connections between the brain and that eye fail to develop normally, and the brain learns to ignore visual information from that eye. The resulting vision lacks depth perception. Strabismus, the most common cause of
amblyopia, appears to run in families.
Prevention:
Early recognition and treatment of the problem in children can help to prevent permanent visual impairment.
Symptoms:
- vision abnormalities where vision in 1 eye is much worse than the other
- eyes that may not work together
- eyes that may appear cross-eyed
- inability to gauge depth when playing with objects (loss of depth perception)
Signs and Tests:
Treatment:
Nonsurgical treatment involves patching the normal eye in an effort to improve the vision in the weak eye by forcing its use.
Eye drops may be used in some cases to improve the vision in the weaker eye. Drops are placed in the good eye to blur its vision thereby forcing the weaker eye to work harder.
Sometimes surgery is required to realign the muscles of the eye.
Eye glasses may be necessary to correct severe focusing problems.
Prognosis:
When treatment is completed before age 5 or 6, vision is often close to normal.
Complications:
Complex problems with muscle alignment may require several surgeries.
Call Your Healthcare Provider:
Call for an appointment with your health care provider or ophthalmologist if a vision problem is suspected in a young child.
Visual acuity tests may be performed in many different ways. This is a quick way to detect vision problems and is frequently used in schools or for mass screening. Driver license bureaus often use a small device that can test the eyes both together and individually.
Imbalance in muscle tension can pull the eyes in separate directions, producing strabismus. When an eye is turned out, it is commonly referred to as walleyes.
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