A lazy eye, or what is known as amblyopia, occurs when the stimulation received by the brain is not correct and finally the brain does not receive stimulation from the lazy eye. Over time, lazy eyes are known to cause blindness. So, can lazy eyes be cured?
Can lazy eye (amblyopia) be cured?
The good news is that lazy eyes can still be cured if detected and treated as early as possible.
Lazy eye is a vision disorder that occurs since childhood and is quite common with around 3 out of 100 children.
It should be noted that this condition is called lazy eye because one side of the eye works better than the other.
So, it does not mean lazy eye sufferers are lazy people. Instead, they are unable to control the function and movement of their own eyes.
Therefore, it is very important for you as a parent and also a doctor to be able to detect lazy eye in children as soon as possible so that you can start treatment immediately.
Apart from being able to recover, proper treatment can also help prevent other visual disturbances that may occur in the future due to lazy eyes.
One of them, this condition is also known to most often cause blindness in children.
Lazy eye symptoms to watch out for
Symptoms of lazy eye are sometimes quite difficult to recognize. However, as reported by the National Eye Institute, generally lazy eye sufferers show the following symptoms.
1. Difficulty knowing whether the distance of an object is far or near.
2. Visible difficulty seeing, which is characterized by squinting, covering one eye, or tilting the head.
In most cases, parents are not aware that their child has a lazy eye. This condition is generally only discovered by doctors when the child is doing an eye examination.
Therefore, it is very important to invite children to have regular eye examinations, at least once when the child is between 3-5 years old.
How does a lazy eye cause blindness?
Vision in the lazy eye can continue to decline if left untreated and eventually lead to blindness.
Crossed eyes, or what is commonly called strabismus, is one of the most common conditions that cause lazy eyes.
Two separate images sent to the brain make the image look blurry making it more comfortable for the brain to ignore one eye.
This abnormal eye then becomes weak because it is not used and eventually causes lazy eye disease.
This condition can cause blindness in the lazy eye because the brain always ignores the stimuli or signals received from that part of the eye.
Because the brain feels that it is not getting stimulation, over time the nerves in the lazy eye will be damaged, eventually causing permanent blindness.
That is why the condition of a lazy eye should be treated as early as possible so that it can heal.
How to deal with lazy eyes so as not to cause blindness
To be able to recover, lazy eye generally needs to be treated according to each cause.
Some of the treatments or therapies that can be done to treat this eye condition are as follows.
1. Glasses are usually prescribed to improve focus or misalignment of the eyes.
2. Surgery or eye surgery can be done on the eye muscles to straighten the eyes if the previous method doesn’t work. Surgery can help in the treatment of amblyopia by allowing the eyes to work together better.
3. Eye exercises may be recommended before or after surgery to correct faulty visual habits associated with strabismus (crossed eyes) and to teach comfortable eye use.
If the underlying cause has been corrected, treatment can be continued with the following therapies.
1. Patching or covering one eye (the more dominant eye) may be necessary for a period of time, from a few weeks to a year. When the dominant eye is closed, it forces the “lazy” eye to work, thereby strengthening its vision.
2. Medications, in the form of eye drops or ointments can be used to cloud the vision of the good eye to force the weak eye back to work. However, the use of drugs has a smaller success rate.
To find out which therapy or medication is most appropriate for you, you should consult this with your doctor.
The doctor will adjust the treatment to your health condition so that your lazy eye can heal.