Amblyopia, also known as “lazy eye”, is a condition in which vision does not function properly due to abnormal vision development during childhood. Usually only one eye has amblyopia, sometimes it can occur in both eyes.

CAUSES OF AMBLYOPIA

Normal visual experiences are important for the development of perfect vision in children, if these visual experiences are disrupted amblyopia will occur because the areas of the brain responsible for processing vision are not well developed. Things that can cause amblyopia:

Squint

In general, amblyopia occurs in the squint eye, as there is a mechanism to “turn off” vision in the tilted eye to avoid double vision. Hence good vision fails to develop in the squinted eye.

Refractive error

Refractive errors are vision conditions that can be corrected with glasses. If one eye is more blurry/“weak”, and is not corrected with appropriate glasses, the blurred eye will develop amblyopia.

Abnormalities in the visual media

When the visual media is disturbed (such as in congenital cataracts, the eyelid falls down and covers the eye) light cannot enter the eye perfectly, so the child will not have a perfect visual experience, resulting in impaired visual development / amblyopia.

DIAGNOSIS AMBLYOPIA

Parents usually do not realize that their child has one “weak” eye because the eyes are used together, unless an examination is done on each eye, or there is an obvious abnormality such as squint, so that an early examination can be done. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct eye examinations especially in children so that amblyopia can be detected early and treated.

AMBLYOPIA THERAPY

If left untreated amblyopia can lead to permanent visual impairment. Treatment becomes more difficult and ineffective when the child is older than 9 or 10 years old. There are several stages of amblyopia treatment, namely :

Address existing abnormalities

Correction of existing refractive errors with glasses, contact lenses. If there is a squint or cataract condition, surgery is required.

Patching/Occlusion

The “strong” eye is closed to force the child to use the “weak” eye

Medicines

For children who are not compliant with patching, eye drops can be given to the “stronger” eye to reduce the focus, so that the child uses the “weaker” eye.

Material by: dr. Victor, SpM