Does your child have Lazy Eye?

Have you notice that your child's eye stray when he stares at you? If so, have him checked for amblyopia, or "lazy eye." Visual pathways carry images from the eyes to the brain. When visual pathways do not develop correctly, one eye becomes stronger than the other. The weaker eye lags behind in recognizing visual messages and the brain depends more on the strong eye. The weaker and unused eye strays from the point of visual focus. The result? Poor vision. When this happens, a doctor prescribes prescription glasses or an eye patch that covers the stronger eye and forces the weaker eye to work harder. Poor nutrition, injury (traumatic amblyopia) and cross eye (strabismus) are some factors that influence the development of amblyopia. The key to treating amblyopia is detection before ages 8 to 10. Otherwise, it may be too late for corrective glasses or eye patches.