Amblyopia is reduced vision in one eye that develops during visual development in childhood. The brain gradually starts to prefer the better-seeing eye and suppresses the image from the other eye.
It is often referred to as a “lazy eye” and affects approximately 4% of children.
If amblyopia is not detected and treated early, it may lead to permanent visual impairment and often also relates to squint.
The difficulty is that amblyopia may not be obvious at first glance. A child can appear to function normally because the healthy eye sees well enough and the brain compensates by ignoring the image from the weaker eye.