Amblyopia Definition - What Is Amblyopia

What is amblyopia?

Amblyopia or lazy eye is a disorder of the eye. This is characterized by decreased or blurred vision in one of the eyes. The eye was, moreover, are usually perfectly healthy and normal, but there usually is a refractive error at a very young age. This gives the brains in early childhood offered no sharp image and develops the brain of seeing insufficient. This is later unable to catch more good, is also designed as a pair of glasses with the correct strength. The problem is caused by no or poor signal transmission of the visual image to the brains.

Amblyopia is usually limited to one eye, but it is also possible that the amblyopia manifests itself in both eyes. The latter may be the case when there is a very high strength in both eyes or spectacles for instance by congenital cataracts. The image that is transmitted to the brains of both eyes is then bad.

Amblyopia is created at 2 to 5 percent of the young children as a result of an absent or limited involvement of the eye at the sight.

Amblyopia and strabismus

A lazy eye can have different causes such as:

• unilateral strength glasses or goggles strength difference (Anisometropia)
• double-sided high strength glasses
• Strabismus (strabismus)
• eye diseases such as congenital cataracts (cataracta congenita), low-hanging eyelid (ptosis)

At glasses strength difference whether a unilateral glasses strength is the image that one eye transmits to the brain of better quality than the image of the other eye. This usually slows down the development of the eye with the lowest strength and there is a lag in the development of learning: the eye sees less.

In the case of strabismus switch the brain the image of one of the eyes to double vision. One of the eyes is then usually used less frequently or aloof held when looking with due to amblyopia. However, it may be that this is not noticed because the eyes cosmetic law.

Name "lazy eye"

Amblyopia is a development problem in the brains, is not an organic problem of the eye. The part of the brains that corresponds to the visual system of the eye is not optimally stimulated amblyopic, and does not develop normally. This is confirmed by brain research.

Amblyopia treatment

Young children
A lazy eye can be treated in different ways depending on the cause and severity of the lazy eye. The treatment methods are:

• correcting spectacles strength
• masking the good eye (occlusion)
• dripping of the good eye

Amblyopia in adults and children
The above methods are focused on children, as treatment at an early age gives the best and fastest results. Treatment later in life, however, also makes sense, even if the person is an adult. Although this treatment will usually last longer it is possible to achieve an improvement in vision in the lazy eye. The degree of improvement depends, among other things, on the duration of the therapy and the dedication of the patient. Usually, taping and dribbling the good eye is not enough, but it is repetitive visual therapy to stimulate the brains signals from the lazy eye to better interpret.