Lazy eye is quite a common condition which results in one eye not moving in synch with the other. Below is a guide to everything you need to know about lazy eye.

The symptoms of lazy eye

You may find that while one of your children's eyes looks straight ahead, the other appears to be slightly looking off in another direction. Your child may squint a lot or shut one eye when focusing on an object. You may also notice that your child tilts their head in an effort to see things better. These actions are taken as the child tries to compensate for the effect the lazy eye is having on their vision.

A lazy eye can result in problems with depth perception. The condition may also affect the clarity of your child's vision. Problems with clarity occur because the brain sidelines the lazy eye as the signals it is sending are confusing. To prevent these signals, the body stops the eye from developing in the normal way.

The causes of lazy eye

A child with healthy vision will be able to move their eyes in a synchronised way from a very young age. The human eyes are designed to provide binocular vision by feeding two slightly different views of the world around into the brain. The brain uses these two different views to create a sense of depth. However, sometimes the muscles which are responsible for the movement of your child's eyeball can be weak, and this can result in difficulty moving the eyes together.

The treatment of lazy eye

An eye doctor will first assess the severity of the condition using a series of eye tests. They will then either recommend vision therapy or surgery. Vision therapy involves your child wearing an eye patch over their good eye. This is designed to force the lazy eye into action and can help to build up muscle strength around the eyeball.  

If vision therapy is not successful or if the condition is advanced, the optometrist may recommend that your child have surgery. The eye surgeon will make a tiny incision in the clear layer of cells on the outer eyeball so they can access the eye muscles. The muscles are then shortened slightly to bring the lazy eye into alignment.

If you would like to find out more, you should contact an eye doctor today for more information, help and advice.

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