Amblyopia, also called “lazy eye,” is an eye condition which develops in early childhood.  For a number of reasons, the images from one eye (or in rare cases, both eyes) will be “ignored” by the brain.  If this is left untreated, especially during the early vision development period in one’s life (until around age nine), these neurological pathways will become permanent, resulting in a lifetime of reduced vision.  Having one amblyopic eye also puts added strain on the dominant eye, in which case future eye disorders are more likely.

Amblyopia symptoms may include:

• Squinting or closing one eye to see things.
• Poor depth perception and contrast perception.
• Poor visual acuity in general.

Amblyopia is often difficult to diagnose in children, since they often don’t know they have a vision problem.  A doctor usually tests for the condition by blocking each eye and observing the patient’s response to visual tests.  Amblyopic patients will often tend to do poorly on three-dimensional image tests.