Lazy Eyes
A vision test is necessary to ascertain if a person is suffering from Lazy eye disorder. This affects a person’s vision and should be tested in medical terminology, it is known as Amblyopia. This occurs when the brain refuses to receive and acknowledge signals from one eye. Squinting is the most frequent reason for lazy eye. Around 1-5% of the population usually suffers from Amblyopia. Most people are affected by lazy eye at a very young age. If the condition is detected in early childhood, the chances of being cured are improved.
Structure of Lazy Eye
A vision test is necessary because Lazy eye is a problem of the brain and not any inherent, natural problem in the eyes or eyeball. This problem occurs because the portion of the brain which sends messages to the eye does not develop appropriately. Therefore it is not capable of functioning to its full image capability. The maximum development period in humans is when they are born right up to when they are at the age of two. This disease usually affects only one eye in most sufferers.
Amblyopia or lazy eye occasionally affects a person in both eyes if both the eyes are deprived of visual stimulations. When it is detected in the early stages, it can be corrected by eye glasses or corrective surgery which basically serves to bring an equal amount of images to both eyes and for this a vision test is necessary
Symptoms
A lot of people suffering from lazy eye syndrome are not even conscious of the fact that they are suffering from the disease until they undergo a vision test when they are older. This happens because the vision in one eye is quite strong, while the affected eye only has a very mild form of lazy eye. People suffering from the advanced form of lazy eye have difficulty looking at the world in normal 3D dimensions. However if they use monocles or optical devices for one eye, they can see things normally.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Treatment consists of using devices that force the lazy eye to concentrate while the good eye is covered with any eye patch or by administering Atropine. This blurs the vision of the normal eye and forces the eye with Amblyopia to concentrate in an effort to function normally. However the atropine can create small lumps in the good eye, which have to be corrected by using correctional ointment. The person should be careful not to overdo the treatment as this might cause lazy eye in the good eye as well. If treatment is started early, the person might have normal vision his entire life.
Clinical Trails
Although the best results are obtained if treatment is carried out before the age of 8, studies have proved that children up to 12 years of age can also be cured. Video games in which both eyes receive different signals, and must combine the signals to play the game have proved to be successful in the treatment of lazy eye. Adults can also show improvement for lazy eye by becoming involved in sensory perception exercises.