Amblyopia is a very common vision disorder in children and often persists into adulthood. It is reported to be the leading cause of loss of vision in one eye in adults under age seventy. Only children can develop amblyopia, but without treatment it can cause a lifetime of uncorrectable visual loss. In strabismic amblyopia, the eyes are crossed, turned out, or otherwise misaligned. The misaligned eye is turned off by the brain.
Cataracts can cause deprivation amblyopia.
Anisometropic amblyopia occurs when one eye is out of focus. In all cases of amblyopia, early treatment is best. In most cases, patching of the normal eye, called occlusion therapy, strengthens the amblyopic eye. Patching is usually effective if begun early enough and complied with by both the parent and the child. An alternative is to blur the vision with an eye drop.