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Lazy eye

What is a lazy eye?

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Lazy eye is also known as amblyopia. This is a common condition in children where the vision hasn’t fully developed, usually in one eye. When a patient has a lazy eye the brain focuses on one eye more than the other, this causes the signal to not fully develop in the lazy eye causing a lower level of vision.

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Symptoms of a lazy eye

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Symptoms can include:

• A turn in the eye

• Tilting of the head

• Shutting one eye

• Poor depth perception

What causes a lazy eye?

From birth our sight is constantly developing. A lazy eye can occur due to one eye not fully developing causing it to become weaker.

This can be due to:

• Having a high level of myopia (short sighted) or hyperopia (long sighted) in one eye

• A squint (turn in the eye)

• Other eye conditions such as congenital cataracts

Treatment for lazy eyes

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Treatment for lazy eye is most effective for children under the age of 8. The treatment depends on the cause of the lazy eye. If it is due to having one eye that is very long or short sighted, it can be treated with glasses and in some cases with a patch. If it is due to conditions such as congenital cataracts this will normally need to be treated with surgery.