Lazy Eye and treatment

Lazy eye, also known as amblyopia, is an early childhood condition in which a child's eyesight does not develop as it should in one eye
This is a common eye disease affecting nearly 5-10% of children. In this disease a child cannot see well from one or both eyes due to uncorrected refractive error or squint. Unfortunately, Lazy Eye Disease goes undetected as, children do not complain and parents do not realize it. Appropriate treatment at the correct time can restore good vision

• Symptoms of lazy eye include blurred vision and poor depth perception.
• Lazy eye is not a problem with the eye, but the connections to the brain.
• Amblyopia can be caused by a number of factors, including a muscle imbalance or eye disease.
• Treatment can be effective and the sooner it begins, the better.

Treatment tends to be more effective the younger the child is. After a child is 8 years old, the likelihood of vision improvement drops significantly but can still be effective. There are two approaches to lazy eye treatment:

• Treating an underlying eye problem.
• Getting the affected eye to work so that vision can develop. This is done with
  a) Glasses
  b) Eye patches
  c) Eye drops
  d) Surgery
  e) Combination of these.