What Is Amblyopia (Lazy Eye), and What Can Be Done to Help?
There is a wide range of vision issues out there, and one of the most common ones is amblyopia or lazy eye. If you’re wondering what causes a lazy eye and how to treat it, we’ve got the answers below — knowledge, after all, is QUAY.
What Is Amblyopia?
Amblyopia, or the medical term for lazy eye, is reduced vision in an eye due to an abnormal visual development, which causes it to wander inward or outward. It generally develops around early childhood, from zero months to seven years old. It’s the most common cause of vision loss in children, and up to 3 out of 100 children have it, according to the National Eye Institute.
How Is a Lazy Eye Diagnosed?
If you notice that you or your child has a wandering eye, consult an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Your eye doctor will conduct an exam and determine your options. Vision tests may include using eye drops to dilate the eyes, covering one eye to see if the other eye can follow an object, and asking patients to read a chart.
Early diagnosis can help prevent long-term eye problems down the line. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that a child’s vision and eye alignment be checked between ages 3 and 5.
What Are the Symptoms of Amblyopia?
When someone has amblyopia, the weaker eye will typically wander. It is possible, but rare, for amblyopia to impact both eyes. Other symptoms include poor depth perception, squinting in one eye, a strong difference in farsightedness or nearsightedness between the eyes, head tilting, crossed eyes, and a droopy eyelid. If left untreated, amblyopia can progress into temporary or permanent vision loss.
What Causes Lazy Eye?
Amblyopia happens when your brain favors one eye because of poor vision in the other one. Many factors can lead to amblyopia. They include genetics, different levels of sight between the eyes, vision impairment, refractive errors (such as astigmatism), eye trauma, eye surgery, glaucoma, and more. It’s critical to consider and treat other vision problems because your brain may start ignoring signals from your weaker eye altogether.
How Can I Treat Amblyopia?
To find the best treatment for your amblyopia, consult your eye doctor. Younger patients may sometimes wear a patch over the stronger eye to force them to use their weaker eye. In some cases, eye care providers may even use drops that blur vision in the stronger eye.
Can My Prescription Help With a Lazy Eye?
Because glasses are often used to help many eye conditions, you might wonder if they'll work for amblyopia. It’s common for patients with amblyopia to get prescribed eyeglasses, which may use a lens that blurs vision in the stronger eye. QUAY currently fills unexpired single vision prescriptions (for eyeglasses and sunglasses) between +4 and -6 and astigmatism between +4/-4.
Shop QUAY’s collection of prescription eyeglasses to keep your vision and style on point. You can use your FSA/HSA account associated with a major credit card or purchase with Afterpay to pay in four equal installments.
