Timely treatment of the “lazy eye” will help preserve vision

Impaired vision seriously affects the quality of life of any person, and when such a problem occurs out of the blue, it is simply discouraging. Amblyopia or lazy eye syndrome – this is a serious ophthalmic pathology in which one eye (rarely both) suddenly loses the ability to see. Since in the case of a neglected disease, a person can permanently lose sight, it is important to identify amblyopia in time and start treating the disease as soon as possible. Read the article about the causes of the development of the “lazy eye” and about the treatment of amblyopia.

Causes of “lazy eye”

According to the leading ophthalmologists of the world, the development of amblyopia is provoked by the processes of inhibition in the cerebral cortex, which exclude the lagging eye from the process. Thus, the protection of the organs of vision from the development of double vision (diplopia) is organized. This process is invisible to the patient, who begins to get used to limited vision. For this reason, doctors may encounter some difficulties when conducting preventive screenings in children and often do not detect the presence of the disease – the child does not complain of deterioration of vision, and the retina of both eyes looks quite healthy.

Even during a routine eye examination, which uses posters with letters or pictures, it is not possible to identify the disease, because people with amblyopia can peep into them with a healthy eye.

Primary amblyopia is associated with abnormal formation of the eyeball during fetal development.

Risk factors for secondary amblyopia:

• Low birth weight;
• CP;
• birth of a premature baby;
• presence of a diseased retina in a premature baby;
• strabismus in a child under 6-8 years old;
• mental retardation.

Also, the development of amblyopia in a baby can be influenced by the bad habits of the mother during the period of bearing a child (smoking, drinking alcohol).
People suffering from the "lazy eye" syndrome, the risk of developing blindness is much higher than people with normal vision. So, in case of loss of a healthy eye against the background of amblyopic disease of the ability to binocular vision, a person is doomed to a complete loss of vision.

Amblyopia treatment

Timely treatment of amblyopia can save a person's vision, so at the first sign of the disease, you should immediately seek help from specialists.

Get rid of “lazy eye” it is quite possible if timely start to neutralize the underlying disease that caused amblyopia.

To treat amblyopia use:

• contact or night lenses;
• laser correction;
• eyelid surgery (for ptosis);
• intraocular lens implantation (for cataract);
• passive and active pleoptics, when the eye that sees is well closed in order to increase the visual acuity of the squinter.

Prevention of lazy eye syndrome

1. Visiting an ophthalmologist at least 2 times a year;
2. in the presence of even a slight strabismus in a child under 5 years of age, regular observation by a doctor;
3. children under one year of age with suspected strabismus should have training in which toys are placed at some distance in front.

It is possible to detect the disease in time and preserve vision only in case of regular visits to the ophthalmologist, and the most important task of doctors – early diagnosis of amblyopia.