Q: What is amblyopia?

Amblyopia is reduced vision in an eye that has not received adequate use during early childhood.

Q: What causes amblyopia?

Amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye," has many causes. Most often it results from either a misalignment of a child's eyes, such as crossed eyes, or a difference in image quality between the two eyes (one eye focusing better than the other.) In both cases, one eye becomes stronger, suppressing the image of the other eye. If this condition persists, the weaker eye may becomes useless.

 

Q: Can anything be done to treat amblyopia and prevent vision loss?

With early diagnosis and treatment, the sight in the "lazy eye" can be restored.
 

Q: When should treatment for amblyopia begin?

The earlier the treatment, the better the opportunity to reverse the vision loss.
 

Q: What treatments are available?

Before treating amblyopia, it may be necessary to first treat the underlying cause.
 

	Glasses are commonly prescribed to improve focusing or misalignment of the eyes.
	Surgery may be performed on the eye muscles to straighten the eyes if non-surgical means are unsuccessful. Surgery can help in the treatment of amblyopia by allowing the eyes to work together better.
	Eye exercises are a limited form of treatment. Exercises may be recommended either before or after surgery to correct faulty visual habits associated with strabismus and to teach comfortable use of the eyes.

Q: What treatment follows the correction of the underlying cause?

The correction may be followed by:

	Patching or covering one eye may be required for a period of time ranging from a few weeks to as long as a year. The better-seeing eye is patched, forcing the "lazy" one to work, thereby strengthening its vision.
	Medication—in the form of eye drops or ointment—may be used to blur the vision of the good eye in order to force the weaker one to work. This is generally a less successful approach.

Q: What happens if amblyopia goes untreated?

If not treated early enough, an amblyopic eye may never develop good vision and may even become functionally blind.
 

Q: How many people have amblyopia?

It is estimated that two to three percent of the general population suffers from this form of visual impairment.
 

Q: Are there any support groups for parents and children who are dealing with amblyopia?

Prevent Blindness America is in the early stages of creating such a group. If you are interested in joining the group or if you can contribute experiences, stories or helpful hints, please visit the Eye Patch Club™.

To learn more about amblyopia, please contact Prevent Blindness America, or the Prevent Blindness affiliate near you.

Visit our Web Forum to share your concerns and ideas with other visitors of our website and to read about their experiences with amblyopia.

 
 

When you join the Eye Patch Club, you receive the Eye Patch Club Kit, containing:

The first issue of Eye Patch Club News. This newsletter features tips and techniques for promoting compliance; stories from and about children who are patched; and professional advice from optometrists, ophthalmologists and orthoptists. Each issue also includes a Kids’ Page, with fun games and puzzles for your child. Five additional issues are yours when you complete and return the “Let Us Hear from You” sheet in the kit.

 

 

 

The Classroom Guide. This is for your child's teacher. Sometimes kids who wear patches worry that friends at school won't understand patching. The guide explains everything to the teacher and classmates, and gives them ideas for fun activities to help everyone learn more about their eyes.

An Eye Patch Club calendar and stickers. For every day of wearing the patch as prescribed, your child gets a sticker to put on the calendar. When the calendar is full, send it back to Patch and the pup will send your child a cool, colorable, iron-on t-shirt decal featuring Patch.

 

 

	A refrigerator magnet. You can keep Patch's helpful hints up where everyone can see them.
	A pen pal form. Children in treatment can share their stories with others in the Eye Patch Club. Stories and pictures may be included in future issues of the newsletter or on Patch's page on Prevent Blindness America's web site.