Strabismus - Lazy Eye

Host: A very common condition in young mothers is they see a baby and they think one eye isn't focusing with the other eye. It is a little bit off to the side. What is that thing called lazy eye or something like that?

Dr. Steven Rosenberg: Well actually, most people call it a lazy eye, but that is not actually the correct term. It need to be a crossing eye or wandering out eye. Lazy eye actually refers to when one eye does not see as well as the other and that can be caused by the eye wandering, but it can also be caused by a lot of other things.

But when we have the eye wandering out or turning in, the medical term is Strabismus for that, but when the eye is crossing in or wandering out, that should be evaluated by a pediatric ophthalmologist in order to make sure that there is not any condition that either needs to be treated with glasses, with surgery or if there is a lazy eye because it might mean that one eye does not see as well, you also may need to be treated with patches and with patching the better seeing eye or to force the child to use the worse seeing eye in order to straighten the vision in that eye.

Host: If surgery has to be done, when is it usually considered?

Dr. Steven Rosenberg: Surgery needs to be considered any time after six months of age if it is needed. Probably it should be done within the first year when the eyes are crossing or wandering out and probably the sooner, the better.

Host: What is this term, Amblyopia, what does that mean?

Dr. Steven Rosenberg: Well, Amblyopia refers to lazy eye. That is when one eye becomes lazy because the brain has decided to focus on one eye instead of the other eye. It could also be caused when both eyes do not have good vision such as that somebody was forming cataracts or somebody who had to need glasses and never got the glasses that they needed.

They could cause both eyes to be lazy and the treatments had to be with each of them had to do with first, if there is something blocking the vision to clear it out of the way. If they need glasses, to get the child in glasses and if there is imbalance between the two eyes and sometimes the patches needed to patch the better seeing eye in order to make the worse seeing eyes see better.

Host: There is a thing called pseudo --