What is Amblyopia (lazy eye)?

Eyesight develops from birth until a child is around eight years of age. If one eye sees a blurred picture, vision does not develop properly because the necessary connections in the brain are not made. If your child needs glasses then they will be prescribed. If the eyesight remains below normal, even when wearing glasses in an otherwise healthy eye, this is called amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’.

Who will we see at the hospital?

At the hospital you may see several specialists;

Orthoptist will check the vision in each eye and assess if there is a squint present.
Optician (optometrist) will test the eyes to see if glasses are needed.
Ophthalmologist will look into the eyes to check they are healthy and perform surgery for a squint if needed.

How is Amblyopia usually treated?

Amblyopia must be treated in the early years of life before the visual system has fully developed, the earlier that it is treated the easier it is to manage. If glasses are needed, they should be worn for all waking hours. If glasses alone do not bring the vision to a normal level then the lazy eye must be encouraged to be used. This can be done either in the form of patching the better-seeing eye or blurring it using atropine eye drops.

What is the aim of treatment?

The aim of treatment is to improve the vision in the lazy eye. This is to give a useful level of vision in this eye in case you lose the sight in the better-seeing eye later in life, due to accident or disease.

How long will treatment take?

The length of treatment may vary. Generally most of the improvement in vision takes place in the first six months of treatment, however vision may continue to improve after this point. Treatment will be stopped when there is no further improvement in vision or an acceptable level is reached. Factors which may affect the outcome include the following:

How poor the vision is at the start of treatment

The age your child is when treatment is started
The cause of the poor vision
If your child wears their patch or uses drops for the specified amount of time

What would happen if treatment is late or is not given?

In some cases treatment may not help, for example if the eye is not healthy and would not respond to treatment, or if your child is considered too old. However, in some cases, if the eye is healthy, treatment may be tried even if detected late.

If you choose not to treat your child’s lazy eye then the vision will remain below normal.

Your orthoptist or ophthalmologist will be happy to discuss each case individually.

For further information

Contact details

Appointments Office

To change or cancel an appointment call 0191 282 4444.

Monday to Friday: 9am to 5pm (excluding Bank Holidays)

Children’s Eye Department

To speak to an Orthoptist or Nursery Nurse about treatment call 0191 282 4434

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (excluding Bank Holidays)

PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service)

For help, advice and information about NHS services. You can contact them on free-phone 0800 032 02 02, e-mail [email protected] or text to 07815500015.

If you would like to find accessibility information for our hospitals, please visit https://www.accessable.co.uk

Useful websites

If you would like further information about health conditions and treatment options, you may wish to have a look at the NHS Choices website at www.nhs.uk