A vision disorder, most commonly seen in children, who develops it as a result of crossed eyes, or strabismus, it can lead to permanent visual impairment, with sight possible through only one eye. causes When babies are born, they do not have full control over their eye muscles, hence crossed eyes may be a frequent occurrence. However, by 6 months of age, the infant should be able to focus the eyes normally. If the muscles that control eye movement are not balanced or aligned properly the eyes fail to focus together on an object, and the brain compensates by suppressing the image from one eye. When the brain does not use information from this eye, the eye becomes amblyopic or "lazy." In rare cases, amblyopia may be caused by severe malnutrition that damages the optic nerve, resulting in permanent optic atrophy
The following are some of the symptoms of Lazy eye syndrome : • Eyes that do not move smoothly in tandem after about 6 months of age. • One eye with a tendency to focus inwards, upwards, or outwards while the other follows objects normally. • Habitual eye rubbing, head tilting, or covering one eye. • Difficulty with tasks that require estimating distances, such as catching or throwing a ball.Diagnosis: • Consultation with an ophthalmologist • Crossed eyes are an early warning sign of lazy eye syndrome. • Usually, the doctor tries to catch the baby's attention by flashing a shiny object or flashlight into his or her eyes, and then moving the object back and forth and observing the baby's eyes as they follow the object. Then, the doctor alternately covers and uncovers each of the baby's eyes while continuing to note individual eye movement. • ophthalmological and neurological evaluation
• orthoptic training : This training requires the child to do eye exercises and put a patch over the normal eye for at least several hours each day in order to force the brain to process information from the weaker eye. • If another vision problem such as nearsightedness is present, the child may be given special glasses that are equipped with one corrective lens and one darkened lens to force the brain to depend on the weaker eye. • If muscle weakness is also involved, prescription of eye drops that cause blurring in the stronger eye may be used to force reliance on the weaker eye. In rare cases, surgery may be necessary. When amblyopia is the consequence of malnutrition, it must be treated promptly with vitamin B.