WHAT IS LAZY VISUAL (AMBLYOPIA)?

LAZY VISUAL (AMBLYOPIA) is a disorder that occurs as a result of the visual center in the brain not developing due to insufficient visual stimuli reaching it, starting from an early age. If we summarize the causes of lazy vision under a few main headings;

1. Lazy vision due to refractive error is the most common group. Having a high number in one eye causes blurring of vision in that eye. Visual stimuli coming from two different eyes cause confusion in the visual center and the brain prefers to perceive the clearer vision. This is not actually a conscious choice, it is just a way the brain uses to survive. However, the fact that stimuli coming from the same eye are constantly used within a developing and growing system causes the visual system to be stimulated one-sidedly. As the visual center in the brain is stimulated, the networks between the neurons that provide vision will be triggered and vision will gradually begin to increase. Therefore, the visual center on the side that the eye with refractive error and blurred vision cannot stimulate lags behind in development. This means that the vision on the stimulated side gradually increases over time, but the vision on the unstimulated side does not develop.

2. Another reason is that the eye remains closed from the time the baby is first born. This can be thought of as not being able to get enough sunlight through a closed window. The closed condition is most frequently seen in cases of congenital eyelid droop, which we call congenital ptosis. Less frequently, the same problem can develop in congenital or later-developed eyelid masses located on the eyelid. Since the eyelid is droopy and the baby cannot lift it even if it wants to, that eye does not receive enough visual stimuli, and since the visual center in the brain cannot be stimulated sufficiently, amblyopia may develop due to the reasons we have explained above. Therefore, eyelid droop should not be perceived as just an aesthetic problem; it is useful to check whether refractive error and amblyopia have developed in that eye after the eyelid operation.

3. Strabismus is another cause of amblyopia. Children with strabismus usually cannot use their strabismus eye adequately, and preferentially use the eye that does not strabismus to see. Since the neuronal networks in the visual center stimulated by the strabismus eye do not develop sufficiently, vision in that eye will be limited. In strabismus, eye numbers (refractive errors), if any, are also corrected and the eyes help to send correct and sufficient vision signals to the brain.

4. Other less common causes of amblyopia include congenital cataracts, scars on the cornea that prevent vision, and opacities on the visual axis. In cases where the transparency on the visual axis is impaired, amblyopia may develop again because sufficient visual stimuli do not reach the visual cortex.

After amblyopia is diagnosed, it is very important for your child to be examined as often as your doctor recommends. Amblyopia is a disease that can be treated more easily with the family’s patience and support for the child.