What Is Lazy Eye?

By jolene

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Amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” is a condition where there is decreased vision that cannot be corrected using contact lenses or prescription eyeglasses. It usually begins in infancy or early childhood. Although most cases affect only one eye, there are also some cases that affect both eyes.

Lazy eye is the most common reason of decreased vision in one eye among children and adolescents. With the proper intervention, most of the vision loss due to amblyopia is reversible or preventable. The recovery will depend on the age where treatment is started, the duration of abnormal eyesight, and maturity of the visual connections.

1. Mechanism

Although there are many types of amblyopia, it is believed that it is all due to the same basic mechanism. It is thought to be due to a developmental issue in the brain where the part that receives images from the lazy eye is not properly stimulated and, therefore, not able to develop to its full visual potential. This was confirmed by David H. Hubel and Torsten Wiesel who won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1981. They were able to show the damage that occurs in kittens when there is visual deprivation during the critical development period. In humans, this is believed to be from birth to two years old. There are also some organic problems that can cause the persistence of a lazy eye even after the original condition has been treated and resolved.