Pediatric Eye Care Highlight: Amblyopia "Lazy Eye" 

Amblyopia describes a condition where a person's vision is not correctable to 20/20 even with glasses or contact lenses.
 
As children, we are not born seeing perfectly, or 20/20, but instead develop 20/20 vision by learning to appreciate what clear vision is.  Most babies, in fact, are born relatively near-sighted.  This enables the baby to see the face of its caregiver better; whoever is feeding or comforting the baby, generally about 12 inches away.  As an infant develops physically and can stray further away, so does the baby's vision develop, gradually allowing the baby to focus on things beyond 12 inches.
 
We have two eyes, but we see one image which means that the brain has to combine the images each eye sees and process it into one.  If an eye is turned or the prescription in one eye compared to the other is significantly different, the child is at risk for developing amblyopia.  During development, the brain will end up ignoring the poor eye.  In most cases, the eye itself is perfectly healthy, but because the affected eye is not being used the poor eye's vision will not reach its full potential; the poor eye's vision will not be 20/20 and be amblyopic.
 
The American Academy of Optometry recommends a child's vision be checked by an eye care professional before age one, at age three, age five and annually after that.  Dr. Jacobsen can easily detect whether or not a child is at risk for developing amblyopia even if a child is not yet able to read or communicate verbally.  Amblyopia can be prevented but only by early detection.  Please have your children's vision checked early and often.