What causes amblyopia?
Amblyopia is caused by any condition that affects normal use of the eyes and visual development. In many cases, the conditions associated with amblyopia may be inherited. Children in a family with a history of amblyopia or misaligned eyes should be checked by an ophthalmologist early in life. Amblyopia has three major causes: • Strabismus (misaligned eyes). Amblyopia occurs most commonly with misaligned or crossed eyes. The crossed eye “Turns off” to avoid double vision and the child uses only the better eye. • Unequal focus (refractive error). Refractive errors are eye conditions that are corrected by wearing glasses. Amblyopia occurs when one eye is out of focus because it is more nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatic than the other. The unfocused (blurred) eye “Turns off” and becomes amblyopic. The eyes can look normal but one eye has poor vision. This is the most difficult type of amblyopia to detect and requires careful measurement of vision. • Cloudiness in the normally clear eye
