What is Amblyopia (Lazy Eyes) and what are its important causes?

Amblyopia or ‘Lazy Eyes’ is simply defined as binocular or uniocular decrease in best corrected vision (even after spectacle correction), for which no apparent organic cause is found on eye examination. It is commonly caused from conditions that produce blurred image on the retina (e.g. media opacities like congenital cataract, which obstruct the light from entering the eye; high refractive errors) or abnormal binocular coordination of the two eyes (deviation of eyes) or combination of both (unequal refractive errors between the two eyes, astigmatic refractive errors).Amblyopia occurs during the critical or sensitive period of development and maturation of the visual system, which is estimated to be 0-8 years in children. It has to be remembered that the patient has to undergo a complete ocular examination to rule out any organic cause of loss of vision before the diagnosis of lazy eyes is established.