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than 80,000 new cases of amblyopia, or "lazy eye," occur
each year...and early detection can prevent partial
or permanent loss of vision.
Simply put,
amblyopia is the poor vision in an eye that did not
develop normally during early childhood.
"Lazy eye" occurs when the message sent from
one eye to the brain is of lower quality than the other
eye, which results in the sight of that eye always being
poor.
It is important
to note the possible causes of amblyopia. These include:
- strabismus
or misalignment of the eyes
- difference
in the extent of near-sightedness or far-sightedness
between the eyes
- disease or
injury to the nerve connecting the eye to the brain
- possible psychiatric
conditions www.michiganeye.com
- (in adults)
excessive use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs
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Since there is an
imbalance in the message sent to the brain by the eyes--one
message is weaker than the other--the brain compensates
by ignoring the weaker message, which is coming from
the lazy eye, thus the common name. The result: the
affected eye tends to be used less and less, weakening
it further.
Because it is during the early childhood
years that vision continues to change quickly and continues
to develop, it is important that a complication like
amblyopia be detected early.
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