How to Identify a Lazy Eye in Your Child

One of the best parts of parenthood is watching your child grow. You start to notice changes in their overall health, especially when it comes to their vision! But if you feel your child has difficulty seeing out of one eye than the other, there’s a high chance that it’s the eye condition Amblyopia, commonly known as a “lazy eye”. Although the term is fairly well known, many do not entirely understand what it’s about.

Blink Vision Care is here to help you through that. Here’s a guide on what to look out for and how to identify lazy eyes in your child.

What Exactly is a Lazy Eye?

Vision is based upon our eyes transmitting signals to the brain about the images in the environment around us. This then translates to what we actually “see” with our eyes almost instantly. However, this process is only as strong as the connection between the brain and the eyes.

With a lazy eye, that connection ends up being stronger in one eye than the other. That is a “lazy” eye. This eye ultimately becomes weaker with increasing strain and is unable to focus sharply as the other which makes it wander.

How To Spot a Lazy Eye

Your child may not even realize they have a vision problem. That is why it’s important to look out for these signs. Some of the most common signs include:

• Clumsiness: You will notice that your child may be having trouble with simple tasks such as throwing an object or reaching for one. This reflects a problem with perception depth. If your child is fumbling and bumping into objects or people frequently, this could also be indicative of a lazy eye.
• Wandering Eye: Pay attention to the way your child looks at an object. If you notice that one eye is focused on the item while the other wanders, that could be an indication. The eye could either wander inward or outward, but it will not be steady in comparison to the focused eye.
• Squinting/ Shutting Eye: In the weaker eye, the child may see double or one image may be larger than the other but may learn to simply ignore it. This will lead to a lazy eye.
• Head Tilting: If your child is tilting the head while reading or focussing on something directly in front, it could indicate a vision problem too.
• Droopy Eyelid: An eye with weaker vision sometimes droops over more than the other. The condition known as ‘ptosis’’ can cover the eye’s pupil and damage vision eventually.

Blink Vision Care is here to help your child with vision needs. We have a variety of children’s eyeglasses for you to choose from. Our SHAW No-Patch technology works specifically to correct a lazy eye. The SHAW lens helps your child integrate the two images into one, more easily, and sharpen focus. Feel free to send us a message on our website to find out more or visit our Brampton location.