Amblyopia(lazy eye) does not usually cause symptoms. Younger children are often unaware that there is anything wrong with their vision and, even if they are, they usually fail to describe their condition unlike the older children who may voice their concerns regarding the inability to see clearly through one eye.In some cases one eye may look different from the other. However, this is usually a sign of another condition that could lead to a lazy eye, such as Strabismus (squint). Strabismus is condition in which the eyes don’t look in the same direction.
Types of Amblyopia:
There are usually three different types of Amblyopia seen among people:
Strabismic Amblyopia:
Strabismic amblyopia develops when the eyes are not straight, wherein the eye may turn in, out, up or down. In such a condition, the brain begins to ignore, or “turns off” the eye that is not straight resulting in reduced vision in that eye.
Deprivation Amblyopia:
Deprivation amblyopia develops when cataracts or similar conditions “deprive” young children’s eyes of visual experience. If not treated very early, these children never learn to see well and can have very poor vision. Sometimes this kind of amblyopia can affect both eyes.
Refractive Amblyopia:
Refractive amblyopia is observed in cases where there is a large or unequal amount of refractive error between a child’s eyes in which the brain learns how to see well from the eye that has less need for glasses and does not learn to see well from the eye that has a greater need for glasses. The vision problem may not be easily identifiable as the child does not complain of blurred vision so long as the good eye compensates for the lack of vision in the amblyopic eye. Also, the eye affected with Amblyopia may not look much different from the normal eye. Hence, because the child’s eyes look normal, parents and physician may not suspect that there could be a problem. For these reasons, this kind of amblyopia in children may not be detected until the child has a vision test. Refractive Amblyopia can affect one or both eyes and can be best helped if the problem is detected early.