Possible Lazy Eye?

Updated on September 06, 2010
J.C. asks from Chicago, IL
15 answers

if one eye crosses over towards the middle is it considered lazy eye? does anyone have some good exercises for a 22 month old or will it go back to normal? thanks!

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T.T.

answers from Chicago on

you need to go see a doc. its a sign ( possible sign) of other issues. I know 2 kids that need to wear glasses because they have the same issue and their vision was terrible. This is an important stage of development. you want them to be able to see well and everything can be fixed easier the earlier it is caught...good luck !

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V.C.

answers from Dallas on

My son has amblyopia and his eyelid drops when he is tired. I would take him to pediatric opthamologist and get professional advice. Some eye conditions can be easily corrected if caught early. Later, the therapies may not be as effective.
Good luck and God bless,
Victoria

2 moms found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

No, crossing eyes is a different condition from lazy eyes (amblyopia), for this your eye doctor will prescribe special glasses with a prism. Time to take him to the eye dr Mom! Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful

J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

I had a lazy eye diagnosed at age 3 (caught early). From what I have heard, lazy eye has NOTHING to do with crossing. Take your kiddo to the doctor (specialist).

1 mom found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Chicago on

Definitely try to get your child in to see a pediatric ophthalmologist soon! The condition of an eye crossing (being out of alignment) is called Strabismus. The eyes don't work together, which can prevent normal vision from developing. If not treated, this may lead to Amblyopia, which is poor vision that occurs when the brain ignores one (or both) eyes. Amblyopia is often referred to as "lazy eye". Both of these conditions are serious and should be treated sooner rather than later in order for your child's vision to develop properly.

A year ago, my daughter was diagnosed with Strabismus (her left eye was turning in - called Esotropia. When an eye turns out it is called Exotropia). Her Strabismus had also caused her to develop Amblyopia - her vision in her left eye was getting worse because her brain wasn't using that eye as much). We started patching her good eye for 2 hours every day for about 10 months. Thankfully, the patching helped the Amblyopia and today she has 20/20 vision in both eyes. However, the patching was not enough to strengthen the muscles in her left eye to "pull it back in to alignment". Therefore, in July she had surgery to correct the Strabismus. With surgery, the muscles of the eyes are readjusted to properly align both eyes. Proper alignment will help your child be able to do things that would otherwise cause issues later down the road (ie: catch a ball, drive a car, etc.). The surgery was probably more stressful for me as her Mom as it was for my daughter. It involves 2 weeks of restrictions (ie: no swimming or water in eyes, no dirty activities, lots of drops, etc.). But 1 1 /2 months later, she is going great! Not everyone has to have surgery, and patching works for many, but if that is the road you eventually have to travel down, everything will be great. There is an amazing doctor/surgeon who practices out of Naperville/Lisle if you need a recommendation (Dr. Patricia Davis - a pediatric ophthalmologist).

Best of luck to you and your child as you work to get this corrected.

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M.B.

answers from Champaign on

i have had a lazy eye all my life and i have had to wear glasses since i was 1year old. my eye doc told me to try and get my eye to be stronger cover the other eye for and hour a day to work on the mussels in the eye. tis may help but for some it doesnt so glasses help

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C.

answers from Chicago on

I would take your child to an eye doctor, the sooner the better, because often the treatment involves training the eyes so you want to get the vision back on track as soon as possible. There are a couple things it could be, but treatment is usually glasses or an eye patch over the strong eye for so many hours/day depending on what the source of the issue is.

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L.R.

answers from Chicago on

You already have some great responses, and I just wanted to emphasize the importance of seeing a pediatric ophthalmologist now instead of later. My mom has it, I have it and so does my 2yo son. My mom and I had surgery since therapy did not work, and I hope that my son will not have to go though that!! I would like to recommend a few good doctors; Dr. McDonnell is at Loyola in Oak Brook Terrace and Dr. Guay-Bhatia who practices at Dupage Medical Group. Good Luck, and I hope that you have lots of patience, as you will need it!!

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D.F.

answers from Chicago on

my son had the same thing and we took him in at 2 years old. You should take him in to be looked at they will try all sorts of things to correct it like patching or even glasses. The younger the better. My son patched for a few years and then wore glasses for 1 year and a half. It was much better, but still not 100%. Then early this year he had to have the surgery to correct it. He is doing very good now. But, I was told the earlier the better because you may be able to correct the situation without surgery later on.

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K.M.

answers from Chicago on

You need to see a eye doctor most likely the one eye is stronger than the other. they will most likely patch or give glasses. they patch the stronger eye

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S.M.

answers from Rockford on

I just had my 'recently turned two' to the eye dr. today. She has her vision checked yearly since she was born a preemie. The dr. found her to be very far-sighted. As soon as we got there, the question I was asked over and over again was "Do her eyes ever cross or appear to cross?". I was told that she will need glasses due to her far-sightedness, and that if she doesn't get them and wear them, it could effect her vision of things both far and near, and her eyes could begin to cross. I would say to definitely get your little one to a very good eye dr. asap. Good luck!

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M.O.

answers from Chicago on

Yes that sounds exactly like a lazy eye. It will not go back to normal without help. There are glasses and exercises that make a HUGE difference. Start NOW. BTW - I have, and grew up with, a lazy eye. All I had was a patch to cover my good eye to "train" my lazy eye - this was insufficient and to this day, I do not use my lazy eye - have little to no 3d vision and would basically be legally blind if anything happened to my good eye - Intervention is worth it!

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G.S.

answers from Chicago on

If you can get to Crown Point. Dr. Bruce Smith is a specialist that works with children. He is great and can answer all your questions. You want to take care of this sooner than later. I have Amblyopia myself. Wore a patch over my good eye to help correct if from 3 until 5. Don't know what they do now. A side note if your child is diagnosed, they will have depth perception problems which the brain adjusts for but hitting a ball is REALLY hard. Found that out when I was in my psych class in college. Explained a lot about my gym class experiences.

S.B.

answers from Topeka on

I have lazy eye and when I am tired my eye tends to wander here and there if I don't focus on one thing and mostly if I am not wearing my glasses. Mine was caught in 2nd grade and I had to wear a patch over my good eye while I was not in school to strengthen my eye muscles. It really did help and I can see 20/20 only with glasses.

I suggest taking him to the eye doctor. It is never too early. They can detect things that are wrong at an early age and should be able to tell you what to do.

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R.C.

answers from Chicago on

I am no doc but your child probably has Esotropia (crossing due to far sightedness) vs Amblyopia (lazy eye). Either way you need to see a pediatric opthamalogist and get his eyes checked. He willprobably require glasses or patching of the eye. Do it now before it gets worse and surgery is required!:}

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