Amblyopia is a vision disorder that occurs in children when one eye, which is otherwise normal, develops insufficiently for normal vision.

This is usually caused by either a squint or a difference in power between the eyes.

The development of good vision only occurs until around the age of 10 and so the lazy eye must be detected and treated (if necessary) before this age.

Treatment will consist of either using spectacles or wearing a patch over the good eye to make the lazy eye work harder for part of the time. Most commonly it is a combination of the two. The key to successful treatment is early detection of the problem and so regular sight tests are important for all children.